BANGKOK — In the run-up to the final stage of Miss Universe Thailand, headshots of all 40 contestants wearing avant-garde, northern-style headdresses were released Tuesday night.
The images show all women wearing headgear inspired by traditional Lanna elements given a haute couture twist to rev up the public for Saturday’s final round of the most-watched beauty pageant.
The portraits are also being used to garner votes for the People’s Choice award, where members of the public can the code in the corner of each image by SMS to 4838322.
One of the contestants, Sasiwimol “Belle” Saibuabaan, was a contestant on season one of The Face Thailand where she won adulation for her background as a waitress at her parent’s som tam shop.
The final round takes place at 7pm at Siam Paragon and will be televised starting at 10:45pm on Channel 33. The winner will go on to compete on the international stage at a later date, where Cambodia and Laos will participate for the first time.
At the previous pageant in January, Miss Universe Thailand Chalita “Namtarn” Suansane advanced to the semifinals, further than any Thai contestant in 28 years.
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