Miss Universe S’pore Looks Like Miss Turkey 2015 Costume & Its Designer Has Responded

Like it or not, Miss Universe Singapore could well be the hottest topic now.

I mean, if one can get meme-ified, one has reached the Internet fame that no one’s asking for.

In fact, I would argue that despite all the hoo-ha, the organizers should be glad that it has received such attention: I wasn’t even aware that Miss Universe Singapore exists until this.

But anyways, if you’ve been living under a rock for the last couple of days, here’s what happened.

Miss Universe Singapore wore this…

…and people were generally meh until she turned into a peacock and revealed this….

…and of course, people went apeshit.

Lest you can’t tell, it’s a clever way of portraying the Trump-Kim Summit that occurred this year, with iconic Singapore buildings surrounding the handshake between the long arms of  Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un.

It got such strong backlash that there’s a petition to stop it from being worn in the Miss Universe Parade, because it will “make a laughing stock of Singapore on an International stage” as it is “is in no way tasteful, representative of peace or Singapore.”

It has since garnered more than 646 signatures out of 1,000 signatures.

But wait: it also turned out that the “peacock” style isn’t new.

Miss Turkey 2015’s National Costume

A user from Reddit apparently found this:

This was the costume for Miss Turkey 2015, and it has an uncanny resemblance to the costume Miss Singapore Universe wore.

So, is it a clear case of plagiarism?

But you can’t really call it plagiarism since you can’t say that your friend wore the same T-shirt as you when the print is different.

But still.

The Designer Has Responded

The Miss Universe Singapore costume is designed by Mr Moe Kasim of Moephosis Concepts, and according to him, the idea of using a concept based on the Trump-Kim Summit was by the organizers.

Apparently, one of the challenges to designing the costume was budget, though that’s not elaborated more.

And as for the similarity between this costume and the Miss Turkey 2015 costume?

Mr Kasim has this to say: “Honestly, I’ve never seen the 2015 dress until it was pointed out…There has been thousands of costumes showcased over the years and it’s hard to keep track of them all. It’s purely a coincidence.”

In other words, it’s a can-buy-4D incident.

The Miss Universe 2018 would be held on 17 December 2018 in Bangkok, and let’s just say that for the first time, I’m actually looking forward to watching it.

If it airs on TV. It does, right?