As the excitement builds for the Miss Universe national costume competition, Filipino beauty queen Michelle Dee is all set to deliver another captivating performance.
In an Instagram post, she exclaimed, “National Costume show is TODAY! Let’s give them another show, shall we?” urging her followers to continue supporting her through the voting process.
Following an outstanding performance at Thursday’s preliminaries, Michelle Dee expressed gratitude for the overwhelming love and support.
“Nakakataba ng puso kayo! I feel so much love and I couldn’t be any more grateful to everyone who watched yesterday. Nasa exciting part na talaga tayo!!!” she wrote, using her signature hashtag, #deepatapos.
During the Miss Universe preliminaries, Michelle dazzled in a red swimsuit, looked stunning in a green Mark Bumgarner evening dress, and made a powerful statement by incorporating “Filipinas” in her introduction.
Her performance earned her a spot among the 10 silver finalists of the Voice for Change competition.
Michelle, one of the 84 candidates in this year’s historic Miss Universe, is vying for the Philippines’ fifth Miss Universe crown. Her national costume, designed by Michael Barassi in Nueva Vizcaya, is inspired by “Destination Filipinas” and “Love the Philippines.”
Barassi explained that the costume, resembling a plane, pays tribute to Philippine tourism and Michelle’s role as an Air Force reservist.
The intricately designed costume, weighing approximately 15 kilos, incorporates local materials like ‘solihiya’ and took about a month to create. Notably, Michelle actively contributed to the costume’s conceptualization.
The back of the costume holds a special touch—a painting featuring Michelle Dee’s two brothers in the autism spectrum, her mother Melanie Marquez, and her father Derek Dee.
Barassi expressed pride in Michelle’s hard work and hoped for her success in bringing home the fifth Miss Universe crown for the Philippines.
Netizens shared mixed reactions to Michelle’s national costume. While some praised its innovation and modernity, others questioned its relevance to Filipino culture.
Many expressed their support, praising it as innovative and modern.
“It’s not a bird, but it’s a plane!!! It’s Michelle Dee from Filipinas,” posted X user Carlo Aujero.
“It’s not easy to carry 40 lbs wings, and now Miss Universe Philippines, Michelle Dee, has to disassemble her own Natcos. What a queen,” said another netizen on X named Yashael.
“Philippines’ Michelle Marquez Dee in a Michael Barassi airplane-inspired National Costume, as a nod to her role as a Philippine Air Force reservist, represents how the Philippines is ‘resilient, radiant, and ready to embrace the Universe!’ commented another netizen.
However, some Filipino netizens wondered how Dee’s costume is relevant to the Philippine context.
“We really can’t get our national costume right, no? I mean given how rich our culture is, why this? All one needs to do is check national costumes in Sinulog, Dinagyang or even Aliwan Festivals to see how boring and foreign this one is,” an X user named Emil shared on then platform.
“Seriously, the only thing Filipino about it was the use of rattan, which wasn’t even that noticeable unless one is up close. Also, why are the Bangui windmills even there? As a nod to Makoy?” a Filipino netizen said.
“Diko ramdam ung Filipino culture sa costume nya,” another X user said.
“Medyo kulang sa connection sa culture ng Pinas, but the details ng design ang ganda,” added another netizen.
The Daily Netizen 