The annual event was held at Miami's infamous Villa Casa Casuarina – formerly known as the Versace Mansion – where Rae hosted an illustrious mix of celebrities, musicians, socialites, designers and industry innovators to celebrate the extraordinary work of the program's 16 finalists.
VIP guests including Olivia Culpo, Eva Longoria, Mark Ronson and Issa Rae's Insecure costars Broderick Hunter and Sarunas Jackson; models RJ King and Beau Dunn; artists Gregory Siff and Allie & Lexi Kaplan; designer Gigi Burris; and influencer Olivia Lopez who mingled and sipped artfully crafted Bombay Sapphire cocktails while dancing to music spun by designer and special guest DJ Heron Preston.
This year, the series had a record breaking number of submissions before the 16 finalists were selected to debut their work at a special exhibit at SCOPE Miami Beach before the finale.
As the night winded down, Issa took the stage to announce Vancouver's Vanessa Lam as the Grand Finale Winner of the 8th Annual Bombay Sapphire Artisan Seriescompetition (a first-time Canadian winner for the program). In addition to Lam, Issa Rae announced the Second Place Winner Ariel Vargassal (Los Angeles) and People's Choice Winner Charity White (Chicago).
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