“It’s just us, that’s all I can say,” said Amy Smilovic following her spring runway show. She attributed the collection’s quintessentially Tibi ethos as being a testament to knowing and being comfortable with who her brand is, what its style is, and what she loves. The idea held true when speaking to the quiet luxury movement, which the designer has homed in on since her early days.
Her latest Tibi collection was exactly that: pragmatic, real clothes with the right amount of intrigue and timelessness. Smilovic’s tailoring came both slouchy and fitted, like a selection of great one-button asymmetrica blazers with matching shorts or a knit tank with sleek pants; dresses came in straighter silhouettes with architectural, angular necklines, and outerwear — a gray suede chore jacket and deep brown trench — was desirable, sophisticated and straightforward.
“When you’re so comfortable, I think you can push and explore in interesting ways, which is hard to do if you don’t know who you are,” she said.
Pushing the envelope this season meant dual-gender, frilly pastel tuxedo shirts with relaxed, pin-tucked jeans (Smilovic has been killing it with cool denim as of late); drapey, cape-like silk dressing; hybrid sock-boot ballet flats (a very smart follow-up to the popular ballet flat trend), and reworked tote bags with clever straps on their undersides for easy schlepping, to name a few.
Just like Smilovic’s blazers with built-in wrist slits for watches to slide into, rather than wrap around the sleeve, the delight of Tibi fashions shine just as bright in the details as they do at face value.