María D. Cepero of Puerto Rico donned a gown by Vietnamese designer Nguyen Minh Tuan on the final night of the Miss Intercontinental 2024, where she was crowned the winner.
Cepero, 26, stood out among 70 contestants at the event in Egypt on Dec. 7, wearing a figure-hugging, semi-sheer mermaid dress. The gown’s design, inspired by the strength and beauty of reed grass, was crafted in a white-and-gold palette and adorned with thousands of Swarovski crystals and rhinestones arranged in flowing lines.
According to the Vietnamese designer, Cepero’s representatives reached out six months in advance to request multiple outfits. During the competition, the Puerto Rican beauty appeared in seven of Tuan’s evening gowns—three custom-made pieces and four selected from his recent collections.
Cepero, who holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and an MBA in Accounting, is currently pursuing a law degree at the University of Puerto Rico. She is fluent in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Prior to her Miss Intercontinental victory, she was first runner-up at Miss World Puerto Rico and placed in the top five at Miss World America.
Tuan, 32, graduated top of his class in Fashion Design at Hutech University in 2016. His designs played a huge part to the crowning of Miss Grand International 2021 Nguyen Thuc Thuy Tien and have also been worn by other beauty queens, including Mireia Lalaguna Royo (Miss World 2015) and Natalie Glebova (Miss Universe 2005).
In April 2023, his designs attracted attention when American actress Caylee Cowan wore them on the Cannes red carpet.
