Miss Albania Paula Mehmetukaj
She called this "Queen of Earth and Skies," and said it was a tribute to blood and gems and the mighty eagle and that "just like the eagle, we will soar high." She said she is the eagle in this scenario. All I can hear is Meg Ryan saying, "Is one of us supposed to be a DOG in this scenario?!? ... I am. I am the dog."
Miss Argentina Alina Akselrad
I appreciate how unambiguous this is. She has a soccer ball, sport socks, a sparkly national jersey, and Maradona's face giant on a t-shirt. Of this choice, she wrote, "I knew him in a time when the news in the media about his private life were not the best ones... but I also know, as Rodrigo says, 'He filled with joy Argentinian people... let's celebrate the player on the court and not the man at home." Translation, potentially: "We were out of ideas and he JUST died so we ran with it."
Miss Armenia Monika Grigoryan
I couldn't find anything explaining this. I assume it's an homage to a taraz, but... I can't tell? I've decided she's dressed as the Mother Superior at a hip Armenian convent. Also, she took pains on her Miss Universe page to explain that she has never had a nose job, no matter what people think. How many DMs is she getting about this?!?
Miss Aruba Helen Hernandez
She said this is called The Goddess of the Sea. She looks a bit more like the Queen of Coral Castle on Fortnite, which may be the most niche thing I've ever written on this website.
Miss Australia Maria Thattil
This costume was meant to represent hope, which might have made more sense if the mechanism had worked. She posted that the motor for the wings broke right before she went on-stage, which feels like a very damning statement on hope, so THANKS, UNIVERSE.
Miss Bahamas Shauntae-Ashleigh Miller
This is apparently a tribute to Bahamasair, among other things, and if you think she's just wearing the pilot outfit and standing on front of a projection of a plane, you are wrong...
... SHE IS ALSO WEARING THE PLANE. (And two flamingos and two swimming pigs. I guess there's a reason "Yeah, sure, when pigs swim!" isn't a snotty comeback for anything, since they do it there.) I LOVE THIS SO MUCH.
Miss Barbados Hillary Ann Williams
Hillary said she's dressed as "the goddess of Barbados" but I don't think this looks like a Rihanna costume, so...
Miss Belgium Dhenia Covens
She's supposedly "the orange diamond," a tribute to a rare stone and her home city of Antwerp. She looks more like a Disney villainess. (Also, her About page could only come up with these fun facts: She was an IVF baby, and she was cast to play Pocahontas a bunch of times at Eurodisney but never did it because she doesn't speak French.)(Then why did they keep trying to cast her? I have so many questions about these deeply mundane facts.)
Miss Belize Iris Salguero
She said she had issues coming out with her entire costume, but never said what those issues WERE or whether anything was missing. I hope this was meant to be a tribute to kites.
Miss Bolivia Lenka Nemer
She did the waka waka dance out on the stage, wearing 42 skirts that weighed 24 kilos. It's a fun idea and the video gives you a better sense of it... but it also is kind of clunky for a competition where you kinda need to get the timing of the walk right. She said it's heavy, and it does look it.
Miss Brazil Julia Gama
She didn't say what this is. I think it's an ode to the time she went to Carnival and got so hammered that she woke up outside in the forest having attempted to plant all her cotton balls just to see if they'd grow.
Miss British Virgin Islands Shabree Frett
I am going to take a wild guess that she's dressed as a flamingo.
Miss Bulgaria Radinela Chusheva
I have to think, no matter how much one loves one's national garb, it's hard not to look around at people wearing feathers and headdresses and AIRPLANES and think, "I'm going to lose SOLELY because no one wanted to make me a Bulgarian Air costume." (This may be a traditional garment that the Internet tells me is called "носия.")
Miss Cambodia Sarita Reth
Okay, she looks AMAZING, but what I also need to talk about is how cute her pants are here.
Miss Cameroon Angele Kossinda
She's dressed as LET THE WILD RUMPUS BEGIN. Just kidding, obviously she's a lion, the national animal. Side note: She's really stunning and I am in love with this photo.
Miss Canada Nova Stevens
I sincerely wish Canada would replace the mounties with this. It's like the Frozen North's version of the Wonder Woman island. She wrote a ton of stuff on there about the logistics of the outfit; I recommend reading it all but here's a sample: It's "a SUPER HERO concept fighting for humanitarian and racial causes with a raised red fist representing the fight for equality, and a shield representing strength and resistance." You also get to see her stomp in it and she's REALLY commanding.
Miss Cayman Islands Mariah Tibbetts
So this is called "Sunset Story" but please read the WILD one on the designer's Instagram about the things that went wrong (among them, they never got to put it all together until the moment it went on her body for the contest). I love the feathers. The underlying gown is... not great, but honestly, they put it together in THREE WEEKS and maybe that's why. I have sympathy.
Miss Chile Daniela Nicolas
This is La Pincoya, a Chilean water sprit who "is said to have long blond hair, be of incomparable beauty, be cheerful and sensual, and rise from the depths of the sea." Well. Daniela looks like she's thinking, "That's a lot of goddamn pressure for a lady."
Miss China Jiaxin Sun
This is a beautiful dress. The comments on her Instagram made it sound like it was not entirely a Chinese form of dress and might be appropriated from elsewhere? But I know sadly little about it and couldn't find any detailed explanations.
Miss Colombia Laura Olascuaga
This is called "GODDESS OF THE MAKUIRA, who represents the protective force and power of the Wayuu indigenous woman," and, "Whoever wears this suit carries with him the legacy of an ancient culture where women are the protagonists." GOOD.
Miss Costa Rica Ivonne Cerdas Cascante
She based this on the guaria, a native flower. It could also be someone's Prom dress from the early 80s.
Miss Croatia Mirna Naiia Maric
No explanation for this one either, so I'm going with, "Just put the flag ribbon on some shit and call it a day."
Miss Curaçao Chantal Wiertz
Holy cats, I was going to make a joke about her looking like a proud flight attendant graduate and then it turns out THIS IS A TRIBUTE TO AN AWESOME HERO FLIGHT ATTENDANT. Apparently when her plane went down in the Caribbean sea, she was a total pro and rescued a bunch of passengers before losing her own life in the process. She earned posthumous commendations from Nixon AND Wax, too. Aw. I love that. The photo on Instagram has a rad bag and I wish she'd carried it. I also wish the bodice fit while in motion, but what can you do. Turbulence. I LOVE that she reached for that story to honor national heroism. I learned something!
Miss Czech Republic Klára Vavrušková
"BEHOLD, the national pirate blouse of the Czech people!"
Miss Denmark Amanda Petri
This was supposed to be "the little mermaid and her love story." I'm sorry but I do not see Flounder or Ursula ANYWHERE.
Miss Dominican Republic Kimberly Jiménez
The sunflower is one of their national blooms, I believe, and she was turning them into a symbol of the Dominican Republic's fertile land. Enter... the vag flap, I guess? The GATEWAY TO FECUNDITY.
Miss Ecuador Leyla Espinoza
This is honoring the Inti Raymi festival, an Incan tradition honoring the sun. This is absolutely freaking stunning. The designer has some close-ups on Instagram.
Miss El Salvador Vanessa Velásquez
I was going to make an Edelweiss joke, but let's LEARN! It's actually the El Salvador national flower, Flor de Izote, so honored because "because of its ability to offset the planet’s carbon footprint. In addition, it has medicinal value and the stems are used to create beautiful textiles and nutritious dishes. It’s a reminder to our world and a call for action to protect the environment and to appreciate every blooming flower and plant on our planet." She kind of looks like an EXTRA Batman villainess and I'm here for it.
Miss Finland Viivi Altonen
This dress was meant to be an homage to Finland's evolution into a leader for tech and education and whatnot, and right when you think, "Wow, that's one boring AF homage..."
... KABOOM. She said this took eight months. And it's cool, but wow that's a long time, and with that many days I feel like it should also have shot fireworks and turned into a reindeer.
Miss France Amandine Petit
This was supposedly... a tribute to Joan of Arc? It's basically the "I just want to look cute on Halloween so I'm going as Sexy Crusades" version of the national costume.
Miss Ghana Chelsea Tayui
She put up a LONG explanation for this which is really interesting and too detailed to quote, but there IS a mention of "Miss Universe Ghana as a modern-day woman leader as portrayed in the life of Yaa Asantewaa," the first and only woman to be named the war-leader of the Asante fighting force. I think MOSTLY the star of this is in fact the actual giant star, but I loved reading about what else they discussed.
Miss Great Britain Jeanette Akua
She's dressed as a Pearly, and her explanation is more intricate than I can summarize, so go read it, for sure, and spotlighted something in British culture about which I knew nothing so what a treat that was. She said they used 7000 recycled buttons to make this, and that it took 6 months.
Miss Haiti Eden Berandoive
I BELIEVE I have correctly translated (thank you, Google) from a couple sources that this is a tribute to The Citadel, "the only African-derived military fortification in the New World," as a way of paying homage to them as the first free Black Republic. (Quote is from Wikipedia.) It's a very cool thematic idea -- the designer said they chose it in part as a nod to Black Lives Matter -- but it ends up looking like they forgot pants. It might have been cooler as a giant long skirt. Someone wore a plane; she can wear a Citadel.
Miss Honduras Cecilia Rossell
This reps the Mayan goddess Ixchel, as well as the Jaguar. Highly recommend the close-ups on the designer's page. I am missing the back, and I think it all misses something at a distance. The CONFIDENCE a person needs to wear that headpiece without looking terrified it will fall. Does it look to anyone else like she's righting it or steadying it with her left hand?
Miss Iceland Elísabet Hulda Snorradóttir
This one made me laugh. It's only lit from the front, and the back is totally black. Per the designer, the front is the Aurora, the headpiece is a raven watching the Aurora, and the plain black means WINTER IS COMING. No, seriously. She was like, "It stands for the COMING DARKNESS OF WINTER, yay, enjoy Iceland!" That skirt in the front is awesome, though.
Miss India Adline Castelino
Her sari was woven over five months of quarantine by Indian weavers -- and I'm not sure EXACTLY which five months it was, but no doubt it was incredibly emotional for her to wear their work knowing how Covid has ravaged her country.
Miss Indonesia Ayu Maulida Putri
She is dressed as a Komodo dragon and I just cannot help wishing they'd made a tiny little Phil Bronstein to put in its mouth. (Jokes aside, her Instagram post about the detail and function is ANOTHER must-read. It's fabulous.)
Miss Ireland Nadia Sayers
She's dressed as a fairy. It's a nice idea, but a bit blah, compared to some. It feels more like Garden of Eden But If Eve Had Grown Wings.
Miss Israel Tehlia Levi
Her dress is made of 300 face masks, which I guess... is meant to say they're happy with how Israel handled Covid? One of her commenters wrote, "It's the Sephora bag for me," and that pretty much nails it. (I also can't help thinking that Project Runway contestants would have done way better with those unconventional materials. this just LOOKS like... a bunch of masks glued together. I guess that's the point at this particular event, but.)
Miss Italy Viviana Vizzini
Yep, she's a butterfly. But her antennae look like demon horns. Honestly this entire thing looks like it's from a fairy tale where everyone's motives are ambiguous.
Miss Jamaica Miqueal-Symone Williams
She based this on Lignum vitae, the national flower of Jamaica. On Instagram she said her favorite part is that butterflies flock to it in certain seasons, and that seems like a missed opportunity for some extra zazz.
Miss Japan Aisha Harumi Tochigi
Here, she is honoring karate's inclusion in the Olympics for the first time -- I hope this does not jinx the Olympics, although I also agree with all the people who are concerned it's a superspreader event in the making; my Olympics love is butting up against my Covid cautiousness in a complicated way. Anyway, I very much appreciate any tribute to the martial arts, but doesn't this feel like her costume broke in transit and she improvised? It's a little half-baked.
Miss Kazakhstan Kamila Serikbai
I BELIEVE this is traditional Kazakh wedding garb?
Miss Korea Hari Park
This is a LOVELY hanbok.
Miss Kosovo Blerta Veseli
Blerta declined to put a photo of this costume on her Instagram, for potentially obvious reasons. But there IS a photo of her getting her elbows lasered, so at least we have that? One of Blerta's fun facts on the website is that she designed her own brand logo, and another is that she's read The Art of War three times. Blerta is a woman of untold textures.
Miss Laos Christina Lasasimma
I don't have any details on this one, either, but it looks pretty confidently expressed. I like the matching mask.
Miss Malaysia Francisca James
She said she's the first Malaysian to compete here? I think the execution on this was very clunky. She helped wheel out this prop house, all in black and white. This is where she should step inside it and then not be visible while they turn it around, right? But no. She turned it around FIRST, THEN went inside, THEN everyone waited for what felt like forever ...
...while she changed so she could burst out of it. She told a story on Insta about how she came from a very small village, and I wonder if this was meant to represent going from a tiny town to stepping out onto a colorful world stage. I'm purely guessing though. It could also be an homage to her finishing escrow.
Miss Malta Anthea Zammit
"My kids made this in quarantine! Do you love it?????"
Miss Mauritius Vandana Jeetah
That gown is a hand-painted tribute to marine life, and it's STUNNING. I truly love this.
Miss Mexico Andrea Meza
She is dressed as a Oaxacan alebrije, or folk-art sculpture. Andrea won the whole contest, though not the costume contest itself. This IS pretty amazing. But she almost gets lost in it. Which, may I add, would happen to literally almost anyone in this outfit.
Miss Myanmar Thuzar Wint Lwin
She won, after unfurling this scroll speaking out against the coup in Myanmar that took place in February. Many have pointed out that she took a huge risk herself by speaking out this boldly on the world stage. She looks beautiful and what a gutsy move.
Miss Nepal Anshika Sharma
This is an ode to mountaineers, and she wheeled that thing out compressed into a case before opening it to reveal the drama. All it's missing is the little Price is Right cliffhanger dude to drop off one of them.
Miss Netherlands Denise Speelman
This was decorated with Dutch icons (windmills et al) and while I'm sure it's been done before, this missed a chance for her to wear a windmill on her head. The flowers are overpowering.
Miss Nicaragua Ana Marcelo
Apparently every December, Nicaragua has a festival called, essentially, The Shouting, where they all gather at 6 p.m. and shout love at statues of the Virgin Mary to thank her for her blessings (there are parades and such, too). This costume was meant to evoke the joy of the shouting, and honestly, I don't even care if it does or not; it's AMAZING. I think it's my favorite of these big feathered ones.
AND it has a surprise back!
Miss Norway Sunniva Frigstad
"Wait is this not Eurovision?!?!?!"
Miss Panama Carmen Jaramillo
She said of this, "La Niña, La Pinta, La Santa Maria," and that's it. So I guess she's dressed as a ship.
Miss Universe Paraguay Vanessa Castro Guillén
Aw, it looks like one of her plumes may have gone rogue.
Miss Universe Peru Janick Maceta Del Castillo
She's in a costume inspired by the bird Parihuana, aka an Andrea flamingo. Sincerely, several of these should be in use as superhero costumes.
Miss Universe Philippines Rabiya Mateo
She wrote, "I HAD FUN, THAT'S ALL THAT MATTERS." True, and also maybe she did not love this.
Miss Universe Poland Natalia Piguła
This is the ABS By Allen Schwartz version of Miss Peru.
Miss Universe Portugal Cristiana Silva
Miss Portugal attempted some casual theater...
... unfortunately it was Catsuit Theater.
Miss Universe Puerto Rico
I guess this was... "she's a warrior and it's written in the stars," but in reference to it being her destiny to be the sixth Puetro Rican Miss Universe. (Narrator: It wasn't.) I feel like all the effort went into the backing and not enough went into the dress.
Miss Universe Romania
The inspiration here was Romanian fairy tales, but I honestly feel like she could wear the dress at a big fancy movie premiere.
Miss Universe Russia Alina Sanko
... is she dressed as the Kryptonian Fortress of Solitude?
Miss Universe Singapore Bernadette Belle Ong
Well, I love her. First, she stomped out there in a costume that's basically just based on the flag, EXCEPT...
... she made it a STOP ASIAN HATE dress. Excellent. (She also told a story on Insta about the artist whose song she chose to walk out to, and it's cute. They basically seem like a lot of fun.)
Miss Universe South Africa Natasha Joubert
This one is meant to showcase technique, but also: "[W]e decided to take sketches from local children, to portray how they currently see the state of world in their own ‘words’. We took their actual sketches, digitised them and printed them on white flowy fabric and created an angelic silhouette for Natasha to symbolise overcoming hardship through guidance." That's a very cool idea that I'm not sure translated into something that made sense on its own.
Miss Universe Spain Andrea Martínez
"Width! WIDTH is the key!"
Miss Universe Thailand Amanda Obdam
Supposedly THIS is an homage to Siamese fighting fish, or betta fish. I have to be honest, seeing that fish head shooting out of her groin is really alarming. I just watched season two of the Great Pottery Throwdown and it's giving me flashbacks to the guy who made the turtle toilet, where the head would be jutting out from between your legs when you sat.
Miss Universe Ukraine Yelyzaveta Yastremska
Vytynanka is an incredible paper-cutting craft in Ukraine, and they made this dress with a special fabric so that it might look like paper when she moved. The cutouts traditionally were used by artisans to tell stories of the families, and the intricacy here is just fantastic. What a cool idea.
Miss Universe Uruguay Lola de los Santos
This speaks for itself.
Miss Universe USA Asya Branch
She's supposedly honoring the mockingbird of her home state of Mississippi. It's like shades of that, Katniss, and a Phoenix, I guess, but I bet a lot of people thought, "Oh, she's a red and blue eagle." She shared some good thoughts about her inspiration, and she looks good -- those wings are very very well made -- but as references go I'm not sure the American contestants ever reach as deeply as some other countries do. I wonder how much of that is what a relatively young country we are, and of course the fact that when the settlers did come here they sidelined or stepped on the Native American culture.
Miss Universe Venezuela Mariángel Villasmil
This is an ode to the goddess of lightning. But my kids this weekend found a giant stick in the yard and kept calling it The Unbreakable Stick and were carrying it around paying homage to its power, and that's all I could think of when I saw this. (The unbreakable stick? Yeah, it broke after about three hours.)
Miss Universe Vietnam Nguyen Tran Khanh Van
You guys SHE WALKED OUT IN THIS EGG AND THEN HATCHED. I was just thinking how hard it must be to be Miss Vietnam, always going last because of alphabetical order, and it's a long day and EVERYONE is tired. But that's a pretty good mic drop.