The Mail: A feature on Maksuda Akhter - Miss Universe and more. June 2026
From charity shop to red carpet: Miss Universe Ireland finalist Maksuda Akhter talks style and her love of Irish Designers. By Sara Colohan The first dress Maksuda Akhter ever wore to a competition came from a charity shop, bought with money she could barely spare. Years later, she would walk the red carpet at Cannes in Irish couture, representing a country that had given her almost everything. That contrast, between where she started and where she stands now, tells you a lot about her. Maksuda Akhter was born in Bangladesh and came to Ireland alone as a teenager, with nothing. Her father had died when she was eight, and her mother sent her away to keep her safe. The early years were lonely ones: no immediate family, no close friends outside a small, tight-knit Bangladeshi community with traditional views. She went to school, to college, to work, and back again, eventually completing a degree in business management and building a career in financial services. Then the recession h...
