The national representation of Miss Somnang Alyna, Miss Universe Cambodia 2019 was designed by Madam Boutiques. The two released the first look of the costume to the public on 21st November 2019.
The model also took her Instagram to share the picture of the costume as well as the idea behind the inspiration. She explained that Indra Devi was the second wife of Jayavarman VII, who died in 13th century and was famous for her influence on affairs of state through her spouse. She was an active poet and a professor.
Indra Devi became a symbol of Khmer literature and even today, she has the greatest qualities. She is remembered as the goddess who is not greedy, and she always trained people to fight and liberate themselves from the folly of ignorance. Indra Devi was a great teacher to Cambodia and according to her “our greatest enemy is ignorance”.
Elina also shared that the designers and she wanted to show three female characters representing three degrees of freedom. She explained the three degrees of freedom glory in her caption:
Morning Glory is on the face (a facial cleanser for smiles)
Daytime Glory is on the chest (body cleansing)
Night Glory is on the toes (a pre-bed preparation)
Elina mentioned that because of these reasons, they decided to choose the role of Indian goddess Devi with Apsara as their national costume for the title Miss Universe 2019. Elina also mentioned that they want the world that Cambodian women are not only beautiful but capable and very knowledgeable.
(Photo Credits: Somnang Alyna Instagram Official)
Last year Cambodia’s National Costume for Miss Universe 2018 took over 60 days to create. It was inspired by the Kingdom of Wonder, with a backdrop of a country map that highlights some famous landmark like Angkor Wat. Mat Rern, Miss Universe Cambodia 2018 wore the costume for the final event of Miss Universe 2018.