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Each day throughout Fashion Week we'll be spotlighting one brand or designer whose pieces make up the bulk of our own closets—and we're guessing yours, too. We'll let you know what to expect to see in stores next season and, of course, any other gossip we took away from the shows.
Photo credit: Getty Images
Tibi designer Amy Smilovic started her company while living as an expat in Hong Kong, after her husband was transferred there. It was the fulfillment of the Georgia-born designer's dream—having a fashion label which would allow her to showcase her love of chic and easy styles, as well as bold prints and strong color combinations. Amy's first capsule collection, created in 1997, had only four styles in it. Four impressive styles. Stores in the US soon came calling. Eventually, Amy and her family returned to the States and moved the brand's headquarters to New York.
We entered the Tibi's Fashion Week show this Saturday evening, expecting a catwalk filled with Tibi's signature brightly colored solids and patterns. We didn't find many. Smilovic has been slowly veering away from her roots. Although the collection included a few patterns, like a fabulous black and white one with birds on it, most of the garments were solids. Colors tended to be blacks, off-whites, grays or muted-burgundies, greens and browns. There were also a few metallic pieces in similar colors, which popped on the runway.
The collection's styles leaned towards masculine. Think boxy double breasted blazers and coats with broad shoulders. Many of these were paired with shorts, cropped pants, and long skirts, all reminiscent of men's trousers. The majority of pieces tended to be loose, not body hugging.
The clothes were presented by models with messy ponytails and Groucho blackened eyebrows, all of whom walked a split runway. The audience included front row regulars Olivia Palermo and Louise Roe, who got to watch one rogue model sent out to walk the opposite direction from her peers, a move as offbeat and original as Tibi's prints tend to be.
Don't get us wrong, we like the collection—the jackets are cute and very forgiving, and the masculine trouser styles are sexy. It's just that there aren't many labels who really know how to do bright colors and prints with as much style as Tibi does, so we miss it when they don't go there. To shop the current collection, head on over to Tibi's website, where there are plenty of brights and printed things to be purchased for spring.
· All Fashion Week Fall 2012 Coverage [Racked]
· Tibi [Official Site]