MSM fashion MIAMI HAS A NEW IN TOWN Confessions By Nycole Sariol T rying to stake your claim within the Miami fashion scene is no walk in the park, and especially when it comes to launching your own brand. Limited access to quality yet inexpensive fabrics is made near impossible to find; well-thought out design concepts hard to come across; and of course, who can forget, the grueling pressure of your neighboring competitors, all elbowing to snag the same spotlight of recognition. But for the 22 year-old Miami native and founder of local, contemporary brand Style Mafia, Simonett Pereira is the head of the fashion mob – or rather mafia. “We just got a bunch of new stuff, like fifty new pieces,” says the iced-blonde, style vixen while juggling curating a photo shoot for the cover of a Colombian magazine, keeping tally of stylist pulls, and lunging through box-loads of fresh, new merchandise. Although the fashion realm is where Pereira breathes easiest these days, it was publications and event coordinating that led her to an inevitable fate as shop owner and style peacemaker. Places like 944 Magazine and big time event firms provided the experience that she required, but not the artistic satisfaction that she in fact craved. “I’m a networker,” SIMONETT PEREIRA 26 MSM Miami Shoot Magazine Fashion ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF Style Mafia