CALL it chutzpah, or call it foolhardiness.

The last time a beauty queen came out in a Merlion dress, the designer and organisers got a roasting from the public.

People said it 'looked like a joke'.

But Tan Yong Ying, 21, will be hoping to avoid the fate of Miss Singapore Universe 2008 Shenise Wong.

She is Singapore's representative at Miss Intercontinental 2009 in Belarus on 27Sep, and her national costume is also based on the iconic Merlion.

'I picked the Merlion because it's just a theme; it's about how you bring it out,' she said.

It was Mr John Lim, 27, a designer from Zeeta Apparels, and his partner Alan Huang, 30, who came up with the idea.

Mr Lim said he did not think about the flak that student designer Muhammad Hafiz Tahir received for his Merlion dress last year.

'I never thought about it until I finished the dress. Then I got worried, because I work for a company and I don't want (this) to affect its reputation,' said the soft-spoken man.

'I thought, 'Oh my God... I don't know if my design will also be like that'.'

The fashionista (he kept his hat on indoors) added: 'But then, Singaporeans are like that lor.'

Key to getting sponsors? Be humble

Ms Jackeline Carter, training manager at Academy IG and national director of Miss Intercontinental Singapore, also had her doubts.

'When he suggested the Merlion dress, I was very nervous,' she said.

But she was won over by Mr Lim's sketch, one of several different designs.

The idea behind the dress, he said, is to capture the silhouette of the Merlion without being too 'literal'. That meant no scales.

Mr Lim said: 'Yong Ying is slim and slender and can pull off the dress (compared with the more buxom Shenise).'

This is the first time Mr Lim is designing for a pageant, and the dress is a labour of love.

He estimated he spent $3,000 to $4,000 and a month working on the national costume and evening dress, which he said are worth about $10,000 in all.

He also provided 18 ready-to-wear outfits from Zeeta Apparels, which he designed, for daily wear. Each costs less than $200.

Mr Lim is not the only one who has given time and effort to help Yong Ying.

The beauty queen will be decked head to toe in sponsored clothes and accessories, all from local brands and designers. (See below).

Local jewellery firm Angelicious Creations - Yong Ying's favourite - provided $1,800 worth of handmade jewellery.

Kwanpen, which sells crocodile and other exotic skin handbags, provided a handbag ($4,500) and a clutch bag ($2,500), as well as two card holders for Yong Ying to present as gifts to the international organisers.

Singapore Shawl donated a shawl worth $450 for the charity auction.

Winter Time sponsored her winter wear ($1,000), DMK provided a pair of gold high heel shoes ($40), and NK Hairworks provided one year's worth of hair styling ($2,000).

Hard to get sponsors

Not bad indeed, considering that a common complaint among local pageant organisers is how hard it is to get sponsors.

But it has not been a great year for beauty contestants.

Miss Singapore Universe 2009 Rachel Kum was mired in controversy when 'unbecoming' pictures of her were circulated online. There were also questions why the pageant had to resort, once again, to using a student designer instead of established ones.

Miss Singapore World Ris Low's interview with RazorTV was highlighted for her mispronunciations, with people saying they were worried she would 'sia suay' ('embarrass' in Hokkien) Singapore at the event.

Lilian Lee, Yong Ying's predecessor, who ended up winning the Miss Intercontinental Asia Pacific 2008 title, struggled for sponsors.

Her DIY multi-ethnic costume cost just $200, and she even had to resort to using table ornaments for her headpiece.

The crystals in Yong Ying's national costume alone cost $1,000.

'It's a world of difference,' said Ms Carter, who said she was so discouraged last year she had wanted to give up.

This time she decided to start early.

Yong Ying qualified for Miss Intercontinental in 2008, but Ms Carter decided to send her to the international competition only after a year of training.

This, she said, is how Venezuela does it.

Ms Carter, who called herself 'the world's biggest beggar', started looking for sponsors in June. 'Basically, once we got one sponsor, they helped us out by recommending another one. Before we knew it, we got her covered from head to toe in local brands.'

Ms Carter said the key is to be humble - ask for little, but promise much - 'because who am I to demand anything, you know?'

She said she also tried to show the potential sponsors how much effort she was putting in to showcase local brands overseas, and how much time she was putting in to train the representative.

Giving back

She also promised sponsors that Yong Ying would be available for any modelling or event work. 'So what if you're a beauty queen? You must have humility as well. Pay back the sponsors who helped you,' she said.

It helped that last year's representative, Lilian, came back with a prize - which showed that with the right girl and the right support, Singapore can win something.

Mr Lim said he was willing to invest so much time and money because he saw a potential winner in Yong Ying.

Ms Jacqueline Koh, 27, the designer of Angelicious Creations, was asked for only one pair of earrings, but ended up giving Yong Ying five pairs to keep.

Said Ms Koh: 'We want to let Singapore and the world know that there's a lot of talent here that's not recognised.'

She works hard to improve her English

IT'S been a hectic year for Tan Yong Ying, 21, a Nanyang Technological University chemistry undergraduate.

Between schoolwork and training for Miss Intercontinental, she had plenty on her plate.

Perhaps exhaustion is the reason the 1.68m beauty seemed reticent, unlike her predecessor Lilian Lee, who was all charm.

But when asked about the flak that other beauty queens received this year, Yong Ying livened up.

'People are too critical and look only at the very negative side and they don't know what goes on behind the scenes,' she said.

She added that they should be more supportive of the girls, because there are girls with beauty and brains who are deterred from taking part by the criticism.

She said Miss Singapore World Ris Low, who was slammed for her interview on RazorTV, was just raw and nervous.

She admitted her own English was not very fluent. At home, Mandarin is the language of choice 90 per cent of the time.

So over the last year, she pushed herself to watch more English-language shows, and speaking and reading more English. She was also trained to sing in English and Mandarin to improve the tone of her voice.

But does she feel up to speaking in front of an international audience?

'I'm nervous about it, but I'm confident I won't be making a fool of myself,' she said.

It is easy to see how Yong Ying managed to win over the sponsors. Polite and humble, she had no airs about her.

After she won Miss Singapore Sweetheart 2008 (the qualifying contest in Singapore for Miss Intercontinental), she was given a year's training.

But not without a price. After she was trained in professional makeup, Ms Jackeline Carter made her teach a course at Academy IG, which the former co-owns. She was even asked to work as a receptionist, for a small salary.

Used to hard work

But Yong Ying, who flew to Belarus for Miss Intercontinental on Friday, is no stranger to hard work.

The studious bespectacled girl was a member of the student council in Meridian Junior College.

'Academically, I wasn't doing too bad, and I was reserved - still quite reserved,' she said.

Then she decided to take part in school and inter-varsity beauty contests to gain more exposure.

Miss Singapore Sweetheart was her first national beauty contest.

'Since I have the height, why not give it a try?' she said.

So off went the glasses, and on came the glam.

This article was first published in The New Paper