IT goes without saying that the long lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic has affected virtually all industries.
Not to be spared too was the beauty pageantry industry which is heavily reliant on physical events graced by a huge live audience.
In fact, it was arguably one of the most affected industries by virtue of physical events coming to a complete halt during the lockdown.
“The beauty pageant industry was the most affected during the pandemic due to the closure of international borders. Even individual countries were not able to hold their local selection,” shared Tan Sri Danny Ooi, a veteran in organising beauty pageants.
Ascertaining that there are many beauty pageants held in Malaysia, he observed that this shows that pageants are still a relevant industry.
Local pageantries were also on the rise with the likes of many familiar titles plus more niche ones like Miss CosmoWorld 2022 and even Miss Malaysia Kebaya in conjunction with Karnival Kebaya Malaysia 2022 as well as other spinoff fashion events like Precious of Malaysia 2022 taking off.
DTouch International of which Ooi is the founder spanning over 32 years alone makes him the longest-running pageant organiser in the country.
In addition, the iconic founder of the Malaysia Book of Records is also renowned as the only pageant organiser overseeing the international pageant world finals overseas.
According to Ooi, it is a given fact that in Malaysia alone, the number of beauty pageantry competitions arguably runs in the hundreds, hence making it a significant industry judging by its sheer volume alone.
However, being an eternal optimist, he opined that the pandemic also helped in forcing more innovative measures to be taken in organising the Miss Tourism International World Finals on a virtual stage in 2020 and 2021. This also applied to the Miss Malaysia Tourism local selection as well.
“With the opening up of international borders, we are able to organise a physical competition for this year in the form of the 25th Miss Tourism International World Finals in Kuching, Sarawak to be held in November 2022, which will see the participation of 50 countries,” Ooi remarked.
Emphasising the importance that beauty pageantry in promoting tourism, culture and friendship, he maintained that it has no bearing in any situation as they are capable of assisting in the promotion of tourism in participating countries.
“Although it is hard to measure the impact of beauty pageants in terms of contributing to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) revenue, beauty pageants create long-lasting effect for the promotion of tourism for the country even if the World Finals is over for years as it will continue streaming on Facebook, YouTube and other social media platforms,” he reckoned.
Cleverly seizing the opportunity to pivot further, Ooi further announced the relaunching of the pageantry magazine “Glamour Backstage” which was conceived many years back but took a hiatus during the pandemic stage.
“The concept is to provide a platform to highlight international pageant news, past and current winners’ profiles and their lifestyles, beauty tips, fashion and accessories as well as news on upcoming D’Touch International Pageant events,” he said.
Finding like-minded brand partners to accompany the success journey of “Glamour Backstage”, Ooi has engaged in a collaboration with Nuzezo, the name in numbers fashion jewellery that gels well with Miss Tourism International.
Having said that, Nuzezo will instantly become an elevated international brand through the endorsement of the international delegates for Nuzezo even as it provides them with a rare opportunity to participate in the Nuzezo numbers fashion jewellery business.
According to Nuzezo co-founder Datuk Seri Patrick Tan, the concept behind the Nuzezo Numbers Fashion Jewellery with its gorgeous Swarovski gem designs will appeal to the masses as numbers play a pivotal part in our everyday lives.
“Personal numbers can provide a good and positive feel for the wearer,” he told FocusM, adding that the combination of numbers and jewellery to enhance the wearer’s looks and business opportunities make it an excellent accessory.
On this, Ooi agreed whole-heartedly, jesting that in all seriousness jewellery and numbers can be a girl’s best friend. – Nov 3, 2022
Yvonne Yoong is FocuM’s contributing editor, seasoned in covering the property beat and other industries.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
