White Magic : Singer Gloria Estefan Plays It Cool in the Classic Warm-Weather Color

“I like things pure and simple,” says Gloria Estefan in the same confident voice that powers the red-hot pop-Latin band Miami Sound Machine. “Naturally I like to wear white.” For a sultry day or the kind of evening that could inspire a song like “Hot Summer Nights,” the love theme she recorded for “Top Gun,” the breezy looks that Estefan models here are a natural choice. She credits her husband, record producer Emilio Estefan, who once worked in the New York garment trade, with having awakened her fashion sense. She trusts his taste so much that she let him choose the fabric and co-design the dress she wore to this year’s Grammy Awards. The Cuban-born brunette joined the band 13 years ago and sang mostly in Spanish. Then in 1986 the smash hit “Conga” drove Miami Sound Machine to the top of the U.S. charts. “People told us that conga rhythms were too Latin for Americans and too American for Latins,” she says. “We said, ‘Fine, that’s exactly what we are. We’re that cultural mix.’ ” Estefan appears in basic black and white on the cover of the band’s most recent album, “Let It Loose.” And at home in steamy Florida--with Emilio and their 7 1/2-year-old son, Nayib--she wears a lot of cool whites that are as suitable for Miami as they are for Malibu.

Photographed by Randee St. Nicholas; hair by Max Difray for Maxime, Santa Monica; makeup by Alfonso Noe/Cloutier; styling by Claude Deloffre; Malibu location provided by Legend Locations, Los Angeles