Miss Thailand wore a dress made of soda can tabs at the Miss Universe pageant
Miss Thailand, Anna Sueangam-iam, wore a dress made of soda can tabs combined with Swarovski crystals as a tribute to her parents during the preliminary evening gown competition.
"This gown was inspired by the familiar surroundings of my childhood," she wrote on Instagram. "Growing up with garbage collector parents, my life as a child was among piles of garbage and recyclables. This unique gown was purposefully tailor-made with discarded and recycled materials, namely the 'Can Tab' to present to the UNIVERSE that what's considered worthless by many actually possesses its own value and beauty. Thank you all for seeing it, hearing it, and hopefully being that message of self-worth."
Per her official Miss Universe bio:
Anna Sueangam-iam was born and raised in a slum in Bangkok with her father. In an effort to protect her from an unsafe environment, her family sent her to a temple where she grew up among Buddhist nuns. Here her meals consisted of leftover food from the monks which most people would consider waste. However, it helped her to grow up and survive childhood life. At an early age, poverty differentiated her life at school from other children, especially the cost of tuition. In order to cover her tuition fees, she had to collect merit points, donate blood every semester, collect plastic waste bottles, and clean public restrooms. This experience made her question the accessibility Thai children had to education.
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