Horse Girl Summer
Boots, Bikinis, & Broncos
On a late Miami May morning, Sophie Mains wakes in what feels like a dream from the night before. She throws a red and gold baroque print Versace comforter over her shoulder and sits on the side of the bed with her head in her hands. She’s wearing an oversized Tupac t-shirt we thrifted a few days ago at Goodwill—the one in Little Havana. “It’s the best one,” she insists. “I love when they blast techno at 9 in the morning while I’m raiding the bins.”
We’re staying at the Villa Casa Casuarina, the luxury boutique hotel and restaurant housed in what was once the home of legendary fashion designer Gianni Versace. Built in 1930, the property has long been an icon of Ocean Drive, even before Versace lived there, but his mythology turned it into something else entirely.
Last night after coming back from a night out, Mains nearly had her car stolen by a fake valet claiming to work for the hotel. Lying back in the passenger seat, I had completely let my attention drift, but Mains caught it before I did. Just as she was about to hand him the keys, she paused.
“We’re actually about to go back out,” she said before flooring it and nearly knocking the guy on his ass into the street.
Once safely back in our hotel room, the first person Mains calls is her mother.
“Mom, something really bad almost just happened, but I saved it, because I’m such a genius.”
“Sweetie, you are a genius. That was brilliant,” Mrs. Mains assures her.
The next morning, I’m making “that me espresso” in the Mosaic Suite, where Madonna was known to stay when she visited back in the 90s. Sir Elton John’s favorite suite was just across the hall. Less than a week ago, we decided to stay here on a whim simply because we would be working in Miami.
Where better to go on a week-long bender of shooting all day and partying all night than the Versace Mansion? “There’s so much history within these walls,” Mains says. “I feel the presence of all the artists who came before me. These are people who have changed the world and continue to change the world. It’s incredibly inspiring in that way, but it’s also just so iconic. And as Drake once said, ‘We stay at the mansion when we in Miami.’”
The third most photographed home in the United States after the White House and Graceland, the Versace Mansion boasts that just about every celebrity and their mother has passed through. Being the fashion kids we are, it’s especially awe-inspiring to see a villa that is the physical embodiment of one of our favorite fashion houses. Greca borders, baroque prints, and Medusa heads ornament every corner of the property. No detail is incidental. The villa reads like Versace translated into architecture. “Versace wanted his house to follow house code,” Mains says. “He loved his brand that much.”
“What is most inspiring to me about Versace is how he brought high fashion into pop culture and pop culture into high fashion. He was very Warholian in that regard, which is fitting since Warhol was one of his friends and collaborators. I see this phenomenon coming back in fashion today. The social media world and influencer culture are infiltrating high fashion. The line between Instagram model and fashion model is blurring, and gatekeepers are waking up to the power that social media has. I think it’s exciting, but at the same time, when it comes to fashion, most influencers don’t know what they’re talking about, especially here in Miami.”
I gravitate towards ideas that haven’t been done before. It’s so much more unique and has a bigger impact if it’s your own.
Sitting before me is a Mains who has completely evolved from the last time we worked together just a few months ago. “My inspirations have shifted from influencers and social media stars to true fashion icons such as Madonna, Lady Gaga, and Julia Fox,” she explains. “These are women who built entire worlds around themselves. They’ve turned reinvention into an art form.”
“Aside from fashion, other influences in my creative practice are Rüfüs Du Sol and Noah Kahan. I appreciate their originality in everything they do. There’s also this artist from my hometown who’s on the come up right now... Philip Hiblovic. Have you heard of him?”
“I have heard of him, but his ego is already big enough, so I don’t think I’ll include that,” I say, holding back laughter.
“It’s easy when you’re a college girl to just idolize other college girls with fame,” Mains continues. “A lot of influencers I absolutely love, and they have done incredible things with their brands. But in the past few months, I’ve expanded my thinking. I prefer to look up to people who do original stuff that not everyone else is doing. I gravitate towards ideas that haven’t been done before. It’s so much more unique and has a bigger impact if it’s your own.”
Mains’s obsession with originality isn’t something new. This is the same Mains who vowed to “make Instagram casual again” back in 2020. She gained about 5,000 followers on Instagram and 40,000 followers on TikTok simply by being her authentic self. Mains posted about life’s small moments: Target runs with friends, after-party cuddles, and attending an all-girls Catholic school back home in St. Louis, Missouri. She proudly wears her junior ring to this day, even stopping to text her former counselor a picture of the emerald gemstone glimmering in front of the Million Mosaic Pool. “It’s Ring Day!” she informs me.
Although her aesthetic has changed drastically since then, Mains still holds on to what that era taught her. “I think the reason so many people resonated with my casual aesthetic is they were tired of the fake world of social media,” she says. “Almost every photo you see is retouched in some way and curated to fit a specific narrative. I think using social media as a tool to tell your story and control your narrative is powerful, but there should always be authenticity behind it. It’s easy to tell when there’s not.”
Mains’s earliest experience with artistic expression was dance. “Many people don’t know that my hometown, St. Louis, has one of the most robust and historic dance scenes in the country,” she says. “I started organized dance at two years old, and it remained my sport through high school. My formal training in ballet, tap, and jazz taught me discipline and the ability to make something incredibly difficult look effortless. Being part of a competition team in middle school and later my high school dance team allowed me to take pride in something bigger than myself.”
“I would always struggle with taking longer than my teammates to learn choreography, and it was hard for me to balance the heavy dance schedule with school and other activities. I was always amazed by how much easier it seemed for my friends. That wasn’t great for my confidence, but my insecurity pushed me to work extra hard so that I wouldn’t mess up on stage. When I did have a successful performance, it gave me an incredible sense of accomplishment.”
Mains’s background in dance was something I noticed immediately during our first shoot together. The way she moved, interpreted direction, and understood her body in front of the camera was indicative of instinct. The stage was simply replaced by the camera. “I began modeling through a Missouri-based photography team, well known in St. Louis for their senior photos,” Mains says. “During my junior year of high school, I was selected to be on their 2024 senior model team and participate in various themed photoshoots before getting my senior photos done by them the following year. After that, I worked with a few more independent local photographers in the area, both in studio and on location. Soon after, you reached out to me. That felt like a turning point. After our first shoot, you became not only a photographer, but a dear friend. We’ve accomplished some pretty amazing things together.”
Mains moved to Boca Raton last fall to study Digital and Social Media Marketing at Florida Atlantic University. She was also seeking more opportunities as a model. “St. Louis is such a tight-knit community where everyone knows everyone,” Mains says. “It just became too much for me towards the end of high school. I wanted to get as far away as possible. As I started doing more modeling, I wanted to expand on that, and I knew South Florida would have more opportunities. I didn’t know anyone out here. I wanted the chance to start over.”
When she’s not in school or modeling, you can often find Mains at Club Space or LIV, dancing the night (and morning) away, almost always behind the DJ booth. “If you’re not behind the DJ booth, why are you even going?” I often joke. “GA is for the men.”
“It’s so hard to articulate the feeling that electronic music gives me,” Mains says. “I love being surrounded by other fans sharing the same experience. As it’s murph says, it really does feel like ‘food for the soul.’”
My first rave experience was last summer, and of course, it was because of Mains. After devising a plan at Clementine’s Naughty & Nice Creamery at midnight the night before, we told our parents the next morning that we were driving four hours from St. Louis to Kansas City for Breakaway Music Festival.
Mains was there to see Disco Lines. Although admittedly not much of a raver myself, I was won over by his set. I even put on the pashmina that she brought for me. “I really feel like you’ve cultured me,” I remember telling her.
Months later, Mains would meet John Summit at his Mardi Gras set in St. Louis after being invited backstage by the promoter. She spent the set getting to know his dad. “John Summit could not have been kinder,” she says. “His dad was so proud of him. He was so excited to show him off that he brought me to stand right by John as he played. They are an amazing family, still grounded in their Midwest roots. They inspire me so much.”
Even as Miami reshapes Mains, St. Louis still follows her everywhere. My inspiration for our 21 Artistry issue ‘Horse Girl Summer’ came from a side of Miami most people never see—the hidden tropical countryside of southwest Miami-Dade County near Homestead, known as Redland. It’s a world of horse ranches, boarding barns, tropical fruit groves, nurseries, and farmland. The roads are quieter, the land stretches wider, and the city gives way to something softer. It reminds me of my favorite parts of St. Louis if they were filled with palm trees.
Over the course of the week, we built a lookbook that showcased the breadth of textiles and silhouettes that shape both country and coastal fashion. At Miami Beach, Mains wears a faux leather Albina Dyla bodysuit and chaps to match. Horsepower ignites as we shoot in my car with her white Pomeranian puppy, Beau, who sits in her vintage Louis Vuitton purse; Mains’s styling is inspired by “what the girls are wearing right now” in Miami, only elevated. The last look is an upcycled, zero-waste denim gown by St. Louis designer, Maxine Roeder, that Mains sheds to reveal her Diesel jean bikini underneath at Blue Lagoon Farm.
After a poolside breakfast and quick photoshoot at Gianni’s Restaurant, we check out of the villa and make our way to Patch of Heaven Sanctuary, a 20-acre forest and garden in Miami Rock Ridge—and the site of our 21 Artistry cover shoot, the final of the week. We’ve come a long way from home, where the world-renowned Budweiser Clydesdales of Grant’s Farm and the Anheuser-Busch Brewery stand proudly as symbols of our city, right alongside the Gateway Arch. Today, we would be shooting with one. “My first week out here, I was thrifting and saw a Budweiser hoodie,” Mains recalls. “I picked it up right away as a little reminder of home. It’s really special that we get to shoot with a Clydesdale because it feels like bringing a piece of St. Louis with us.”
Horses are so sensitive, and they pick up the slightest energy. At the same time, horses are so strong. That duality is beautiful.
When we step out of the car, we’re greeted by a kitten that quickly disappears into the palm trees. Mains chases after it (unsuccessfully) before we’re led inside to get ready. “The femininity of the dressing room immediately excited me for the shoot,” she says. “It felt like stepping back in time with all the 1800s details and decorations. Then we walked outside and saw the white horse. It was so angelic. I had never seen a horse like that before.”
With the help of our wrangler, Mains uses a stepstool to mount the colossal bronco. Bareback, she’s wearing a white bikini and cowgirl boots to match the white horse, whose gorgeous, flowing mane is styled to the gods. As Mains becomes more comfortable, she begins falling into poses that are increasingly more daring. When she lies back on the horse, sunlight pouring over her, the scene becomes a fairytale. “I’ve been riding horses since I was a little girl, but they were always saddled, and with reins, I felt like I was in control,” Mains says. “This was my first time without that control, and I wasn’t sure how it was going to go. Once I got on the horse, though, I felt more confident. I wasn’t scared, because the horse made me feel calm. You encouraged me to lean into it and embrace the discomfort. I felt powerful even as I was almost falling off the horse. Even though I was in a vulnerable position where things could have gone really wrong, I felt free.”
For Mains, the beauty of the moment was in that contradiction: the freedom that came when she let go of control. “Horses are so sensitive, and they pick up the slightest energy,” she says. “At the same time, horses are so strong. That duality is beautiful.”
The styling for this shoot was inspired by Adelaide White, my friend from our hometown whom I have looked to for fashion inspiration since high school. In 2021, she posted a picture on Instagram wearing cowgirl boots and a bikini with the caption “Boots & bikinis.” As simple as it sounds, I remember thinking it was such a beautiful combination that I had somehow never seen before. Bringing the cowgirl aesthetic of the boots together with the tropical aesthetic of the bikini just made sense.
Unbeknownst to me, Mains had been inspired by the exact same look. “Last summer, I went to my friend’s lake house. She’s a couple years older than me, and she brought some of her friends who are from St. Louis. I didn’t know them before, and on the way back, they were pulling up a girl’s Instagram and fangirling over her. They pulled up a picture of Addie’s ‘boots and bikinis,’ and one of them specifically said ‘Oh my God. I’m gonna recreate this. I think this is the most iconic idea ever.’ That was the first time I had heard of Addie White. Even though we went to the same high school, I hadn’t put the pieces together. Then I went and deep-stalked on my own and became a fan from afar, and I thought, ‘Boots and bikinis… Why isn’t everyone doing this?’”
Well, we are.
The concept of “boots and bikinis” takes two different worlds and brings them together. On paper, these two worlds shouldn’t make sense, but when you see them in harmony, they blend exquisitely.
Patch of Heaven Sanctuary is similar in this way. The tropical Florida palm trees and climate juxtapose the gorgeous Western-style barn and horses. Indian statues and antiques adorn the interior of the barn. You can hear the trickle of waterfalls spilling into Japanese koi ponds just outside. “This location screams Philip and St. Louis to me,” Mains says. “Nelly described St. Louis perfectly with his album ‘Country Grammar.’ We are country and city at the same time, and it makes us uniquely beautiful. This idea of bringing two completely different or even conflicting styles together and marrying them in a way that works is inspiring to me. The Miami culture of bikinis combined with our Missouri roots of cowgirls and horses… It worked together perfectly. Horse girl summer is a clever combination of aesthetics.”
To celebrate the completion of the shoot, Mains and I pick up my twin brother from our apartment in Brickell and drive to Sexy Fish, our favorite restaurant in town.
“What do you do for work?” the waiter asks me as we sit down. He had noticed the water shoes I still had on from the shoot.
“He’s a writer,” Mains interjects.
“Yes, it’s pretty interesting stuff. I swear no one in Miami has a real job, and I love that I can be part of that. And look… I got my family here to support me!” I say.
I want to create love and art and memories that will last forever.
“I’m proud of my Midwest roots,” Mains tells us. “I have a more balanced perspective on things. At the same time, South Florida brings endless possibilities. As I begin my career, I am reminding myself only to take on projects that are meaningful to me and that I feel push culture forward in some way. I have to believe in the work that I’m doing. I don’t want to do something just to do it.”
In the iconic nautical bathroom, fit for a mermaid (or an IG baddie, depending on who you ask), I finally have a moment to myself to reflect on the past week of creating. I always knew Mains had star power, but it feels like she has finally claimed it. I’m already thinking about all the art we will make in both Miami and St. Louis this horse girl summer. Giddy up, bitch.
“This was so different from what I have done before, and it’s the perfect preview of the summer. I want to go wild this summer and take all the experiences life throws at me. I want to take risks. I want to create love and art and memories that will last forever.”
“Horse girl summer is about grabbing life by the reins. That’s what it’s all about.” •
Editorial
Photography: Philip Hiblovic
Creative Direction: Philip Hiblovic & Sophie Mains
Styling: Philip Hiblovic & Sophie Mains
Hair: Philip Hiblovic & Sophie Mains
Makeup: Philip Hiblovic & Sophie Mains
Production
Editor-in-Chief: Philip Hiblovic
Executive Producer: Philip Hiblovic
Story: Philip Hiblovic
Interview: Philip Hiblovic
Layout: Philip Hiblovic
Publisher: Philip Hiblovic
Fashion
1 │ Patch of Heaven Sanctuary
Frankies bikini: Billini boots; Tiffany & Co. necklace
2 │ Versace Mansion
Luli Fama bikini; Vintage dress & sunglasses
3 │ Miami Beach
Albina Dyla chaps & bodysuit
4 │ Mains Family Home
Yves Salomon coat; Herve Lager dress; Guess pumps; Louis Vuitton bag; Dior lip gloss
5 │ Blue Lagoon Farm
Maxine Roeder dress; Jimmy Choo pumps; Diesel bikini; Hermes earrings
