Dessert, anyone?

THE national costume segment of the Miss Universe pageant is often a fiesta of flamboyant dresses with feathers, sequins, embroidery and other embellishments crafted to represent a country.

Closer to home, the Malaysian contestants’ national costumes have, in recent years, became fodder for Twitter trends and funny memes.

From Rizman Ruzaini’s Petronas Twin Towers perching on Kiran Jassal’s shoulders for the 2016 edition to Brian Khoo’s nasi lemak-inspired dress (complete with banana leaf for wings) for Samantha James in 2017, Malaysians were amused when a skyscraper and a typical breakfast dish became a piece of clothing that should be a representation of the country at the world’s biggest beauty pageant.

This year, the literal fashion game continues with seasoned designer Carven Ong, known for his bridal wear, lending his talent for the national costume for Miss Universe Malaysia 2019 Shweta Sekhon.

A Peranakan Indulgence, Ong said, was his tribute to the Peranakan culture.

Ong’s dress is a riot of colours and textures. The four-leafed wing is made from batik sarong, beaded and embellished to look three-dimensional. The headgear is of gold aster flowers and there’s even a cape in red and gold.

And that’s not the end of it. All around Shweta are five dessert tables, on which replicas of Nyonya kuih like kuih koci,

kuih lapis and kuih talam, painstakingly crafted and painted, along with the traditional Nyonya basket bakul siah and tablecloth draped with pearls.

She is expected to move in this flamboyant ensemble, wings, headgear and five decorated dessert tables in tow.

At the unveiling ceremony in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, Shweta looked drowned in the outfit. Only her face and arms were visible. She didn’t wear the dress. The dress — 28kg of it — wore her.

But Ong’s design is not new in this outlandish representation. Miss Thailand 2015 took to the stage in a dress resembling the tuk tuk, Miss Canada 2014 had a hockey ensemble on, complete with a real scoreboard, and Miss Dominican Republic 2007 carried two dolphins and a coral.

Miss Universe Malaysia Organisation national director Elaine Daly told the crowd after introducing Ong’s creation that so far, the national dresses that had been previously shown went viral. “Hopefully this will too.”

Perhaps in this age of social media, winning the pageant’s segment is secondary to the eyeballs and interaction the outfit will garner online.