Beauty queen Michelle Dee, the country’s bet for this year’s Miss Universe, dazzled in a Mark Bumgarner green cut-out gown, bedecked with 30,000 Swarovski crystals, during the pageant’s preliminary round.

“It pays homage to a lot of aspects of me,” Dee told Vogue Philippines. Her mother, Miss International 1979 Melanie Marquez, wore the same color when she won the title.

“The homage is just the color,” Bumgarner said. “It’s not necessarily the look, ’cause the look is still very much inspired by Michelle’s personality,” the fashion designer added.