MANILA, Philippines – Filipino-American artist JEFRË has been commissioned to design the crown for America’s Miss World 2017. The artist will also judge the preliminary and final rounds of the pageant.

The 66th Annual America’s Miss World will be held at the Linda Chaplin Theatre in Orlando, Florida, and will showcase twenty-eight lucky hopefuls. America's Miss World 2016 winner, Audra Mari of North Dakota, will be on hand to crown this year’s winner.

The design for this year’s crown seeks inspiration from the pageant’s motto, “Beauty with a Purpose”.

“As a public artist who creates work around the world, it is always important for me to create works of art that have meaning and purpose”, shares JEFRË. “I’ve always had an interest in maps and globes, how they are deconstructed and created. The crown will represent and celebrate different races, cultures, and views. It will become a symbol of global unity.”

It’s a sentiment shared by event director, Elizabeth Safrit. “We wanted to create a crown that was more than just a piece of metal and some stones. We wanted to tell a story and represent the global presence of the Miss World Brand. We brought on JEFRË because as a global leader in the art world, he understood our vision for what we want to represent.”

Prerna Nanda of Elementz by Prerna brought JEFRË’s design to life, using:

•    2,367 diamonds and white sapphires

•    97 pieces of hyro blue sapphires

•    382 grams of silver and white gold.

“The shape that JEFRË created is powerful because it represents so many different parts of the world: unique yet united. This crown is a reminder to our titleholder, organization, and anyone who looks at the design that she is a representation of the world as a whole and all who inhabit it.”, Safrit adds.

In addition to designing the crown, JEFRË will also serve as a judge for the Preliminary and Final stages of the pageant. 

“It’s an honor!” says JEFRË. “The motto, ‘Beauty with a Purpose’ is very inspiring and very well matches my philosophy of how I approach art.”

America’s Miss World 2017 takes place on Sunday, August 13th, 2017 (Monday, August 14th in Manila) at the Linda Chaplin Theatre in Orlando, Florida.

For his latest works, like his official Facebook page: www.facebook.com/Studio-JEFRE; and follow him on Instagram: @jefre_miami.