Chanique reveals national costume for Poland contest

WITH just a day away from the Miss Supranational 2021 finale, Miss Supranational Namibia 2020 Chanique Rabe has revealed her national costume on social media.

Rabe left the country for Poland on 25 July.

Miss Supranational is an annual international female beauty pageant that was started in 2009. The 12th edition of the pageant is set to be held on 21 August in Poland, where Miss Supranational 2019 Anntonia Porsild of Thailand will crown her successor at the end of the event.

For the first time since their inception, last year the Miss and Mister Supranational contests were not held, as the 2020 edition, which was scheduled for end of year, was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The ‘shweshwe’ weaving with material was hand stitched locally by Thato’s Basket and the recycled glass beads were handmade at the glass recycling workshop of the Sijwa Project in the Zambezi region. The entire costume was constructed by Lloyd K from the costume dept,” Rabe said.

Rabe says her custom was inspired by her country’s heritage.

“When I am asked about my country, I always refer to the surreal experience where the scorching Namib desert meets the icy Atlantic Ocean. My costume has a true Namibian heritage with inspiration influenced by these two balanced forces – the desert and the ocean, contrasting and beautiful,” she said.

Rabe said the bustier was made envisioning the strong, bold shapes of the desert rose.

“Traditional Namibian fabrics, in hues of blues and greens were added to the pleats of the flowing skirt representing the Atlantic Ocean. The result is bold contrasts as is seen across our Namibian coastline. I am truly appreciative that I was fortunate enough to have grown up spending my summer holidays on the beaches of this extraordinary natural wonder, embodied here through my national costume,” Rabe said.

Thandiwe Blouw, the owner of Thato’s Basket, said it was her first time to contribute to a national costume.

“Rabe knew exactly what she wanted. Honestly, working on the custom was a little challenging for me because normally I am not into clothing. I now certainly would like to be more involved in pageant clothing, especially those showing Namibia and Africa,” Blouw said on Friday afternoon.

The contest will be streamed live on Miss Supranational YouTube channel at 20h00.

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