Philippines' Samantha Panlilio's 'Paru-Paro' among standouts at Miss Grand International 2021 national costume

December 1, 2021 - 9:01am

MANILA, Philippines — Fifty-nine various ensembles and creations paraded before the spectators, both live and online, during the 2021 Miss Grand International national costume competition at Bangkok's Show DC Hall streamed live last night.

The evening saw costumes that echoed the different countries' folklore, myths, festival, mythology, as well as traditions.

Miss Grand Philippines 2021 Samantha Alexandra Panlilio leads the pack with a pappion-inspired get-up from the Paru-paro Festival of Dasmariñas, Cavite.

The festival, which shows the metamorphosis of the butterfly, showed SamPan in a beautifully concocted get-up complete with humongous wings.

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Other standouts included:

Curacao's "windmills of the islands" that has sustained her country's renewable energy;

Guatemala's ancient Mayan costume with a cascade of quetzal feathers on the headdress;

and Thailand's puppetry ensemble based on the Ramayana epic.

The candidates paraded their respective ensembles in alphabetical order:
- Angola was a warrioress with a shield;
- Argentina wore the tulip fields in boa feathers of fuchsia and canary yellow;
- Australia wore her country's emblem of tourism, the Ulysses butterfly;
- Bangladesh celebrated their 50th year of independence with a water lily ensemble, inspired from their national flower;
- Belgium paid homage to her nation's comic book writers and the characters they have spawned;
- Bolivia spread radiance with her sun-inspired get-up;
- Brazil celebrated her state's folklore in a slinky reptilian inspired creation;
- Cambodia brought to the fore her country's heritage site, the Angkor Wat;
- Canada came dressed in a plume-filled ensemble reflecting the colors of their flag;
- Chile, too, wore the colors of their flag with a Wonder Woman inspired silhouette;
- Colombia's costume reflected the blue waters of the three seas bordering its territory;
- Costa Rica paid homage to its jade industry in a creation spread out like a peacock's tail;
- Cuba was the 'queen of the river' in a sunny display of feathers;
- Czech Republic made a bow to her nation's symbol, the noble eagle, while highlighting a crystal mask as reference to the global pandemic;
- . Dominican Republic displayed their national flowers through a huge mask and a get-up showing the colors of their flag;
- Ecuador showed archeological figures employing the use of peacock plumes;
- Egypt approximated Cleopatra's finery, complete with a tiger prop and the wings of Horus;
- El Salvador presented her nation's tradition of the fireball;
- France simply wore an effortless take on the vintage look of Parisian women;
- Germany came as the Grimm Brother's Little Red Riding Hood;
- Haiti highlighted "Madame Sara," a peddling figure intrinsic to their enterprise and economy;
- Honduras carried a large ensemble inspired from ancient Mayan culture and their jaguar god;
- Hong Kong continued with her funny antics with a dimsum-inspired get-up while munching some of the food that came with her costume;
- India danced movements from tribal rituals and spliced them with martial arts stances;
- Indonesia wore her national costume, reflecting how they gave tribute to God, as customarily carried out by Balinese women;
- Italy is a Madonna shrouded in black with a veiled head piece and a mask;
- Japan is the deity protecting the Sakura tree;
- Korea came in a beautifully-cut hanbok and a crown;
- Laos' get-up reflected their cuisine and silk weaving;
- Liberia wore their national tree, the palm, with green ostrich feathers;
- Malaysia carried a sizeable enseme reflecting their folklore and the Ulek Mayang song;
- Mauritius was the protector of the seas in a siren-inspired creation;
- Mexico presented the duality of dieties in a jaguar and snake ensemble;
- Myanmar was the Burmese heart of Bagan, a World Heritage Site;
- Nepal's scaled-down 60-foot chariot was inspired from the legend of Karuma Maya;
- Netherlands came as a Grand Prix line-girl in a track suit and pennant;
- Nicaragua was the protector of corn, blazing in blue-colored plumes;
- Nigeria wore a tribal outfit as seen through aesthetic lens;
- Northern Ireland came in a 'queen of nature' ensemble;
- Pakistan showed the ridges in her landscape and ecosystem in her dress design;
- Panama wore her sunset-inspired outfit with feathers in red, yellow, and orange;
- Paraguay was a Guarani goddess in a multi-color patterned number;
- Peru was decked as an elegant bird of the Amazon rainforest;
- Portugal came jumping in a skimpy gladiator-inspired outfit;
- Puerto Rico was the deity of the female entity representing earth and the waters;
- Russia came dressed as a character in the fairy tales from Lake Baikal;
- Siberia wore an outfit echoing their cold and snowy locale;
- South Africa was garbed in a multi-racial and multi-cultural creation reflecting the colors of their flag;
- Spain wore a festival piece reflecting the forest verdure;- Sri Lanka donned a sari that's prevalent in bridal events and formal receptions;
- Sweden was 'Lucia' with a candle-lit headdress, as celebrated in their Dec 13 festival of the northern lights;
- United States of America came in pink frills as an advocate of breast cancer awareness;
- Venezuela was a serpent deity, showing the divinity of the female, in the lilac colors of an orchid; and
- Vietnam is a blue angel in an ao dong, as a way of honoring her country's frontliners.

Hosted by Han Lay, the Miss Grand International 2021 national costume competition was beamed live to a global audience via Grand TV's YouTube and Facebook channels. The swimsuit and evening gown preliminaries will unfold on December 2, while the final show happens on December 4. Both shows will take place at the Show DC Hall in Bangkok.

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