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Columbia, Indonesia book wins at pageant
Resplendent: Resplendent: Paulina Vega (photo above) beams after the Colombian was named Miss Universe, in Florida on Sunday, while Miss Indonesia Elvira Devinamira (photo below) won the best costume competition
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span class="inline inline-center">Resplendent: Resplendent: Paulina Vega (photo above) beams after the Colombian was named Miss Universe, in Florida on Sunday, while Miss Indonesia Elvira Devinamira (photo below) won the best costume competition..(AFP/Rodrigo Varela)
Colombia's Paulina Vega was crowned Miss Universe on Sunday, Monday in Jakarta, beating out contenders from the US, Ukraine, Jamaica and The Netherlands at the world's top beauty pageant in Florida.
The 22-year-old business student, the granddaughter of legendary tenor Gaston Vega and 1953 Miss Atlantico Elvira Castillo, triumphed over 87 other women from around the world.
Vega wore a long silver sequined gown as she tearfully accepted her sash and crown from reigning Miss Universe, Venezuelan Gabriela Isler, AFP reported.
'This is a triumph, not only personal, but for all those 47 million Colombians who were dreaming with me and were part of this whole process,' Vega told reporters after the win.
Meanwhile, Miss Indonesia Elvira Devinamira took home the top prize for Best National Costume.
Elvira, who finished in the top 15, was seen strutting her stuff in a costume inspired by Borobudur Temple that weighed 20 kilograms.
The 21-year-old law student from Airlangga University in Surabaya, East Java, won following fan voting on Twitter, beating out contestants from Canada, Germany and India.
The costume, 'The Chronicle of Borobudur', was designed by Dynand Fariz and took as its inspiration temple the famed ninth century Buddhist temple in Magelang, Central Java.
Fariz, the costume designer who initiated the Jember Fashion Carnival, said he wanted to use the UNESCO World heritage site to present Indonesia to the world as a melting pot of diverse ethnic groups and religions.
Elvira's victory follows that of her predecessor, Whulandary Herman, who was a finalist for Best Costume in 201 for an outfit inspired by the traditional reog Ponorogo dance.
Kebaya designer Anne Avantie had kudos for organizers in laying the groundwork for the win. 'I appreciate the Miss Indonesia Foundation for choosing a strategy of handing the task to a costume designer, instead of haute couture designer,' Anne said.
Elvira's victory was the third for the Miss Indonesia Foundation in the same category at international beauty pageants in the last year.
Separately, designer Didiet Maulana said that the win was motivating. 'Indonesian designers have been recognized on the international stage,' he said.
Didiet, famous for his designs based on traditional woven tenun ikat ' some of which were worn by Elvira during the pageant's quarantine ' gave credit for the win to Miss Indonesia herself.
'There has been a trend of creating theatrical costumes for the category. The more dramatic, the more entertaining the costume will be,' Didiet said. 'But the costume is not the only thing won at the event. Elvira was stunning on stage and able to convey the story behind the costume.'
