Written by Jesse Scott | Images by Eduardo Schneider
On any given weekend, Anna de Ferran could be spinning inside a Formulation One paddock in Miami, soundtracking a luxurious resort takeover in London, or main a branded activation for one of many world’s most recognizable firms.
“I really feel like I dwell totally on an airplane,” she says, “however Fort Lauderdale is my house base.”
The daughter of two-time Indy Automotive champion and 2003 Indianapolis 500 winner Gil de Ferran, Anna’s household moved from London to South Florida when she was two. Her father’s profession on worldwide racing circuits made fixed journey a truth of life lengthy earlier than her personal work started taking her all over the world.
After returning to England for college in her teenagers, she got here again stateside to attend the College of Miami. Immediately, she credit the area’s worldwide attain and entry to 2 main airports as greater than comfort. It’s infrastructure.
“I’m actually equidistant between London and São Paulo,” she says with fun. “There aren’t many locations you’ll be able to say that.”
Earlier than she turned a founder, Anna made her identify in digital music underneath the moniker ADF, touchdown main membership bookings and worldwide broadcasts. She understands the adrenaline of a packed dance ground, the rhythm of a set constructing towards its drop. However her most consequential transfer didn’t occur in a sales space. It occurred on a whiteboard.
“I’ll at all times be a performer at coronary heart,” she says. “However I noticed at one level that my affect might be greater than simply me on stage.”
That realization turned L’Amigas Collective, an all-female DJ company now lively throughout Miami, London, New York, Brazil, and the Center East. What started as a neighborhood for ladies navigating the male-dominated world of digital music has developed into a world platform representing practically 40 DJs.
Anna describes L’Amigas as sitting “on the intersection of company and artistic.”
It’s a deliberate place. Whereas many businesses chase headline nightclub bookings, L’Amigas constructed its popularity inside model partnerships and large-scale activations. The community interprets inventive vitality into language executives perceive, and interprets enterprise targets again to artists with equal fluency.
“Collectively we will do extra,” she says. “Sadly, society has created this shortage mindset, particularly for ladies. However I actually consider collaboration creates extra alternative.”
The timing proved prescient. As Gen Z ingesting habits shift and conventional nightlife economics fluctuate, extra artists are pivoting towards model partnerships and experiential work. L’Amigas was already there.
“I transitioned into model work fairly early in my profession,” Anna says. “Nightlife wasn’t good for my well being, and I noticed a possibility. Now we haven’t actually felt the downturn others are speaking about. If something, we’ve seen an upturn.”
That upturn is seen within the shopper checklist. Formulation One is among the many collective’s largest companions, a relationship that grew organically as Anna’s personal presence throughout the F1 circuit expanded. Finally 12 months’s Miami Grand Prix, L’Amigas positioned 10 feminine DJs throughout race weekend for manufacturers together with Heineken, Mercedes, F1 Academy and Gordon Ramsay.
Past the monitor, the collective has labored with hospitality giants akin to W Accommodations and Hilton, monetary establishments together with UBS, and way of life platforms like Bumble. It’s a roster that reads much less like a nightlife résumé and extra like a company energy map.
“It’s really loopy once I checklist a few of these names,” she says. “I don’t suppose I might have manifested a greater shopper checklist.”
Behind the scenes, the operation runs lean. Megan Fernandez, primarily based in London and one of many roster’s standout DJs, focuses on expertise. Taylor Futch, in Miami, oversees advertising and marketing and public relations whereas sustaining her personal efficiency schedule. The construction permits for flexibility with out sacrificing cohesion.
In South Florida, the roster consists of Giovanna Elia, daughter of restaurateur Angelo Elia of Casa D’Angelo, underscoring the collective’s rising native visibility. Throughout the Atlantic, L’Amigas has constructed a powerful London presence, with DJs often booked for style week occasions, non-public members’ golf equipment, and luxurious model launches. The transatlantic footprint now rivals Miami in each status and quantity.
For company companions, that cohesion interprets into reliability. L’Amigas doesn’t function on exclusivity; as a substitute, it capabilities as a brokerage mannequin, pairing artists with manufacturers primarily based on tone, viewers, and goal. In a quickly shifting occasions panorama, adaptability is foreign money.
“We focus much less on rising the variety of DJs and extra on rising the shopper base,” Anna says. “Our expertise comes organically as a result of our popularity does.”
When she is house, Anna splits her time between choose performances and scaling the collective’s world footprint. Enlargement into rising markets is on the horizon, together with deeper model integration and sustained development. The ambition is obvious, however so is the intention.
“Florida is a superb place to develop from,” she says. “There’s a lot convergence right here, and it’s straightforward to attach globally.”
For a DJ who as soon as measured success in packed golf equipment and worldwide broadcasts, the metrics have modified. Immediately, it’s about alternative created, doorways opened, and ladies amplified. The stage continues to be there. The music nonetheless issues. However the mission is larger than a set checklist.
The beat, it seems, has solely been the start.
