Philippines and the Miss Universe Best in National Costume Award

Gazini Ganados

Charlene Gonzales

With the back-to-back victory of Chelsea Manalo for the Best in National Costume, the Philippines has now four for this award in its kitty. The first Filipina to win was Charlene Gonzales in 1994 with her T’boli costume designed by the iconic designer Pitoy Moreno. One publication back then questioned the award since Pitoy sat as one of the judges. However, it didn’t turn into a full blown controversy especialy since Charlene made it as far as Top 6.

It took decades before the Philippines won this award. In 2019, Gazini Ganados with her Philippine eagle-inspired costume created by Cary Santiago defeated other stunning and elaborate costumes making her the second Filipinas to win this special accolade.

The National Costume Award was usually bestowed to the candidate that gained the nod of the judges. These days however, it is a different ball game. Last year, Michelle Dee’s aviation-themed costume garnered the most fan votes thus clinching the award. It was however questioned (and at times, mocked) by many pageant fans since there were costumes that are obviously better than hers.

Michelle Dee

Winning the Best in National Costume Award through fan votes somehow diminishes its prestige. This year though, Chelsea Manalo may have won in the same manner but at least her costume stands out and was listed as one of the Top 10 National Costumes according to the beauty experts. Dubbed as “Hiraya”, Chelsea’s costume is an amalgam of Christian and Islamic influences in the Philippines which also showed the cultural and historical links between the Philippines and Mexico.

The Philippines is now tied with Brazil and Korea with 4 Best in National Costume Awards. Colombia and Thailand tops the list with 6 awards each.