At Tibi, Amy Smilovic was thinking about the ’90s. Not in the way fashion is always thinking about the ’90s, but in the way that the ’90s represent a certain kind of freedom. “We were looking at photos from the time; but not at the clothes, but the people and the models and how they were so alive,” the designer said during the presentation at her Wooster Street flagship. “It made us think a lot about not being overly self-conscious; about creating what we want and leaning into it.”
What Smilovic and her team wanted was a sporty moment, but more in the essence of the way one dresses comfortably to partake in a sport, rather than the sport uniform itself. How to best have your wardrobe meet you where you are. “It’s using luxury fabrics in a sportier way and really experimenting with shapes and curves and letting pragmatism lead the way,” she said. She added irregular tacks to a sprightly balloon skirt that brought an element of motion, like they’d been caught by static. There were slouchy but not oversized tailoring pieces made from Italian wool, some of them with added belt embellishments that will allow for a manner of personalization. On a beige jacket, the belt helped an oversized bright green scarf stay in place while draped across a shoulder; on a pair of gaucho pants, an asymmetric sateen blouse with a round neck and slightly padded rounded shoulders was artfully threaded through a low slung croc print belt. Smilovic also showed double waistbands that could be pushed up or down. “Maybe you are experimenting with crop tops and you want your pants to hang a little lower,” she said. A quirky snail print appeared on a pencil skirt and on an easy stark white column dress with raw edges. Slow and steady wins the race.
