The Tamesis
As Amy Smilovic puts it, she’s ready to “go crazy” during the vacation season.
“This time of year, we work very, very hard on our brand image,” she explains at Tibi’s downtown showroom. In fact, Smilovich pushed the boundaries of the brand’s themes. This time, she went for an elegant, understated look—with a healthy sense of humor—requiring a flannel coat with a modular belt tucked away in the pocket; a weatherproof trench with belt loops at the waist and hip that allowed the wearer to cinch the trench or wear it as a low rise; and a candy-colored nylon peplum that mimicked the bottom of the trench, which was featured on everything from basic T-shirts to maxi dresses.
Smilovic is not the kind of designer who is too proud to accept unlikely inspirations. Although she’s an expert on color, this season’s palette of rich browns, emerald greens and acidic chartreuses came from her DM, a Tibi customer, who recommended the American modernist painter Milton Avery. “She said, ‘I was at the museum and I saw this artist and I thought you would like the colors,'” she said. “I fell down the rabbit hole and she was right. I loved the colors.”
A factory mistake also led to one of Tibi’s latest weird shoes – the extra-wide triangle open-toe shoe. “I get really annoyed when you work with a factory or a designer that hides mistakes because a lot of the time it’s always something to look at,” she said. “It’s beautiful and disgusting at the same time. It’s disturbing.”
This almost indescribable sense of “wrong is right” applies to clothing as well. “If we’re doing a print, it really needs to be a little tacky, a little textured,” Smilovich said, pointing to a tracksuit in a burgundy floral silk jacquard. Elsewhere, a belt with three large gold buckles instantly adds appeal to even the simplest of outfits. Now, during this brief moment of the year, Slimovic can delve into “the why behind the clothes, and not just the why behind the clothes,” she said, “and certainly not the trends.” no way trend.
