Nguyen Khanh Van Tran

 Will Miss Vietnam carry with her 200 versions of the Ao Dai?

  By Earl D.C. Bracamonte

Miss Universe Vietnam 2020 Nguyen Khanh Van Tran trended in social media platforms as the candidate who will be bringing the most number of outfits to the Miss Universe 2020 competition. With reportedly 200 outfits as part of her wardrobe collection, she shared the list with Thailand's Amanda Obdam with 150, and Chile's Daniela Nicolas with 70. If this information is really true, I can just imagine the baggage bill all that weight must cost! Later updates revealed that Venezuela's Mariangel Villasmil will be bringing 300, while Dominican Republic's Kimberly Jimenez will bring a mountainful with 627!

Khanh Van Tran won as Miss Universe Vietnam in Dec 2019, after two unsuccessful attempts - in 2014, where she landed in the Top 40, and in 2015, where she landed in the Top 10. She was crowned by Miss Vietnam 2018 H'hen Nie, the most successful Vietnamese candidate, so far, who landed in the Top 5 in the year won by Miss Universe Philippines Catriona Gray.

Before this feat, it was Miss Universe ThIland 2016 Chalita Suansane who was in the news for carrying 17 suitcases to the pageant held in Manila that year.

Part of Khanh Van Tran's impressive collection of 200 outfits, composed of designs from local designers and a few luxury brands, is the 'Ken Em,' a creation inspired by Vietnam's silk weaving tradition of thousands of years.

"The real fiber dress (which) I have never seen before. I believe I will be one of the first young designers who pioneered the innovation of the ao dai using new materials," said designer Khoa Lō, who will be working with another designer, Thai Trung Tin, in creating the ensemble.

Khoa Lō won over seven other designers, in a state-wide competition, the honor of creating Miss Universe Vietnam's national costume for the competition. The ao dai, Vietnam's traditional long dress, was the main theme for the design contest. And Lō won the search based on a criteria of aesthetics, creativity, and feasibility of performance on stage.

Nguyen Khanh Van Tran is the sixth most followed Miss Universe 2020 candidate in the Instagram platform with 273,000 followers. At the top of the leader board is Miss Universe Philippines Rabiya Mateo (706,000), followed by Amandine Petit (France, 540,000), Daniela Nicolas (Chile, 418,000), RR Ayu Maulida (Indonesia, 372,000), and Amanda Obdam (Thailand, 315,000).

One of the fan favorites in this year's search, the 25-year-old aspirant hails from the city of Ho Chi Minh, measures 83-60-90 cms, and stands at 175 cms. Her first major title was winning the Miss Ao Dai Travelgirl Vietnam crown in 2013.