Vietnamese contestant Đoàn Thu Thủy (centre) has been crowned the fourth runner-up of Miss Global 2023. Photo courtesy of Minh Tuan Couture

HÀ NỘI Vietnamese contestant, Đoàn Thu Thủy, has been crowned the fourth runner-up of Miss Global 2023 which concluded in Cambodia on January 18.

The winner of the beauty pageant was Ashley Melendez from Puerto Rico, while Haylani Karuppu from Samoa, Chonnikarn Supittayaporn from Thailand and Katrina Hung from the Philippines were awarded with its first, second and third runners-up titles, respectively.

Ashley Melendez from Puerto Rico is crowned Miss Global 2023 in Tuấn's evening gown inspired by the concept of the phoenix's resurrection. Photo courtesy of Miss Global 2023

Thủy was born in the northern province of Phú Thọ in 1995. The model, who was crowned Miss Sport Vietnam 2022, is currently working as a personal posture and walking coach for women, as well as a developer of the VRun.vn project, specialising in organising sports events such as running, walking and cycling.

Despite not performing well in the Q&A round, the Vietnamese contestant was praised for her stage presence and catwalk ability. Before the finale, some specialised rankings placed Thủy in the group of contestants with the potential to advance further thanks to her stable performance.

Vietnamese designs

From left to right: Haylani Karuppu from Samoa, Ashley Melendez from Puerto Rico, Chonnikarn Supittayaporn from Thailand, Katrina Hung from the Philippines and Đoàn Thu Thủy from Việt Nam. Photo courtesy of Minh Tuan Couture

Both the winner and first runner-up of Miss Global 2023, along with Miss Global Vietnam, selected Vietnamese designs for their appearance in the finale of the beauty pageant.

All three evening gowns were designed by Vietnamese designer Nguyễn Minh Tuấn, who has been dubbed "the designer of beauty pageants".

Miss Global 2023 Ashley Melendez impressed the spectators and judges by appearing in a dress inspired by the concept of the phoenix's resurrection. The design was previously worn by the 5th runner-up of Miss Grand 2023 Melissa Bottema from the Netherlands.

Melendez said she chose the design due to her impression of its elegant appearance, even though it had appeared in public before. She also therefore emphasised the significance of environmental protection by reusing clothing.

Winner of Miss Global 2023, Ashley Melendez (centre), is pictured with Vietnamese designer Nguyễn Minh Tuấn (second from right) and his team. Photo courtesy of Minh Tuan Couture

The Vietnamese designer said he was overjoyed to have a special memory with the Miss Global 2023 in the first days of the new year 2024.

"The moment when Miss Global Puerto Rico and Miss Global Samoa held hands, waiting for the crowning moment, is an image that has appeared multiple times in my imagination. Both girls, coming from two distant countries, wore designs by Minh Tuan Couture - a high-end fashion brand from Việt Nam.

"If I had spoken about this before, many would have thought it was a far-fetched dream, but myself and my colleagues have always made relentless efforts, accumulating experience every day. One success could be attributed to luck, but continuous progress relies on talent and effort," he said.

Tuấn accompanied the contestants in various activities throughout the Miss Global 2023 from January 5-18. He organised the Dreams Come True fashion show at The Grand Ho Tram resort on January 5, featuring the participation of over 70 contestants of the beauty contest.

On the semi-final night of January 13, 14 contestants, along with the reigning Miss Global 2022 and the judges, selected Tuấn's designs. Meanwhile, during the crowning night, his gowns were also worn by 15 contestants, together with Miss Global 2016, Miss Global 2019, Miss Global 2022, and the MC, who was the 1st runner-up of Miss Universe 2023, Anntonia Porsild.

Held since 2013, Miss Global is an international beauty pageant that aims to showcase the beauty, intelligence and cultural diversity of women from around the world. 

The main activities and the semi-finals of Miss Global 2023 were organised in Việt Nam and its grand finale took place in Cambodia. VNS