LOOK: PH's Kayla Carter embodies country's flag for Miss Charm 2024 national costume
Philippine bet Kayla Jean Carter paid tribute to the country's flag during the national costume segment of the Miss Charm 2024 preliminary competition.
The beauty queen walked the runway in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam donning a detailed red, blue, and white gown that represents the colors of the Philippine flag.
Crafted by fashion designer Ryan Ablaza Uson, the dress comes with butterfly sleeves and elegant tassels that reach all the way to her knees. The look was capped off with a golden crown designed by Louie Gallego that appears to symbolize the sun in the national flag.
According to Uson, the costume aims to embody Miss Charm's mission to "promote culture, tourism, and education."
He explained that the color blue reflects the "boundless depth of our oceans, the lifeblood that connects our islands to the world, making the Philippines the Pearl of the Orient Seas" while the red honors the "courage and sacrifices of our ancestors, whose unwavering spirit continues to ignite our pursuit of freedom, justice, and progress."
The gold, he said, symbolizes the "resilience and strength of the Filipino people, a nation that rises and flourishes in the face of adversity," while the white is the "light of peace [that] calls us to unity, highlighting the transformative power of education in shaping a brighter, more harmonious future."
Uson described the crown as a symbol of dignity, pride, and leadership, highlighting the Philippines' potential to inspire the world.
"This costume is a beacon of the Philippines’ enduring charm, cultural pride, and limitless potential," he highlighted.
"Witness a nation ready to share its story, strength, and beauty with the world, one of unwavering courage, boundless opportunity, and an unshakable belief in its future," he added.
For the evening gown preliminaries, Carter wore an ensemble that seemed to have come straight from a fantasy movie. According to its designer Mara Chua, this is no coincidence as the piece was "inspired by the Tree of Souls from James Cameron's Avatar."
"I drew parallelisms from the Tree being a physical manifestation of the interconnectedness of all life forms with the Filipino Diaspora, a phenomenon that Kayla and millions of Filipinos around the world are a part of," Chua explained.
"Through our roots, we are guided on our way home by listening to your heart because as cliches as it sounds, at the end of the day, home is where the heart is," she continued.
The grand coronation night of Miss Charm 2024 will take place on Dec. 21. The second edition of the pageant will see Luma Russo of Brazil crowning her successor at the end of the event.
