Indonesia has been representin’ on the international beauty pageant circuit this year. After Dea Goesti Rizkita finished in the top 10 and took home the prize for best national costume at this year’s Miss Grand International, another Miss Indonesia, Kevin Lilliana, has earned the top spot at Miss International, the Japan-based beauty pageant considered to be up there with Miss World, Miss Universe and Miss Earth in terms of prestige.
The 21-year-old model from Bandung took home the coveted crown at the pageant’s finals, which took place yesterday in Tokyo, beating out 68 candidates from across the globe including first runner-up Chanelle Wilhelmina Maria from Curacao.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOcEM6jVQwc
Kevin also won the award for Miss Best Dresser for her evening dress, designed by Ivan Gunawan and titled “Thallasa: Mother of Sea”.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BbdflftjhSc/?hl=en&taken-by=kevinlln
For the national costume portion of the competition, Kevin’s outfit was themed “Mbok Jamu Gendong and the Ancient Secret Portion”, a tribute to the jamu ladies of Indonesia who go around selling the traditional medicinal drinks.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bbdfa5ZD3Zx/?hl=en&taken-by=kevinlln
As one of the eight finalists, Kevin gave a speech on “Bhinneka Tunggal Ika”, Indonesia’s national motto that means “Unity in Diversity” (her speech starts at the 07:00 mark):
https://youtu.be/BZi9qbGLiCE
“Indonesia is one of the few countries that has such a diversity of cultures, languages and beliefs. That is why I am a big believer in unity in diversity. This world is a beautiful place because of its wide variety, not similarities, and if I become Miss International I will spread these positive values and spread the culture of accepting and respecting differences, because I know that every country has their own cultures, character and identities. Therefore, let’s create a perfect solution by learning, understand and appreciating each other.”
Congratulations to Kevin on her big win, You’ve made Indonesia proud.
