Challenge: Create national costume for Ms. Marianas

2019 Miss Marianas Shannon Sasamoto. (Contributed Photo)

A year now into her reign, 2019 Miss Marianas Shannon Sasamoto is turning her passion for the local culture and language as well as her aspiration for fashion design into her ongoing community projects.

She has kept herself busy despite the COVID-19 pandemic, such as sewing over 200 face masks to donate to the Guardian Mask Project, sharing videos of her reading stories to children, weaving coconut head dresses and hats, and making local recipes such as chicken kelaguen, and others. Her videos and activities can be seen on Instagram @missnothernmarianas and on Stellar Marianas’ Facebook page.

After representing the Marianas at the 2019 Miss International pageant in Tokyo, Japan, Sasamoto has also helped re-launch the NMI Girl Scouts and became a troop leader, attended community events and activities, assisted the Marianas Visitors Authority in promoting the Marianas, and now would like to focus on highlighting local culture and language as well as fashion design.

She will create more videos that promote the learning of local culture and traditions, reading and writing stories in Chamorro, and is encouraging all creative minds to design a national costume using recycled and natural materials for chance to win prizes and spark a fashion design idea for the next Miss Marianas national costume.

“Fashion design has always been a passion of mine and to me, it is exciting and fun to create outfits and accessories that define or expresses who you are,” said Sasamoto. “I am inviting all our creative minds to take this challenge with me and have some fun!”

The national costume is a competition segment in local and international pageants, where contestants would create or design costumes that represents to them the attributes or characteristics of their home countries.

To join the Stellar Marianas national costume Instagram contest, follow @missnothernmarianas, create a wearable costume made from recycled or natural materials that best represents the Marianas to you, post your video or photos with a brief explanation and the hashtag #stellarcostume2020.

This challenge begins July 1 and ends Aug. 31, 2020. Winners will be announced Sept. 7, 2020. Entries will be judged under three categories: Resourcefulness: use of natural or recycled materials, Creativity: placement of materials, items made and Overall: impression of the design. (PR)