by Christina Tung
"A Room With A View, set in Asia in the 1980's"
- Amy Smilovic
Tibi designer, Amy Smilovic took a trip down memory lane for Spring 2009, back to the 80's and back to her fashion beginnings in Hong Kong. She romanticized the times by contrasting her oversized tropical florals in bright tangerines, lemons, limes, tomato reds (it must be time for lunch) and ... cobalts with softer pastels and seersuckers.
To be quite honest, I wasn't crazy about the collection upon first viewing at the Promenade. The highlight for me was her Arthur tank and Charlotte Drape skirt in yellow with a navy obi belt. And of course, Javier Peral's choice in music - That's Not My Name by The Ting-Tings who opened for MGMT at McCarren Pool this summer and The Black Kids' hit catchy tune, ridiculous song title, I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend Hot To Dance With You.
Anyhow, after watching the show again on Full Frontal Fashion, the clothes started to grow on me. Maybe compared to the rest of the crap out there now, this collection started to look better, who knows? I appreciated more the thoughtfulness to the cohesion of the collection and Smilovic's attention to timing - finally a spring collection appropriate for spring! She kept a well-draped silhouette among her harem pants and tulip skirts. Don't get me wrong, I HATE harem pants, but after seeing more of this season's variations on this I Dream of Jeannie trend, Tibi's seemed to be possibly even wearable, flattering and dare I say, chic with a matching blazer, one of her Arthur tank tops and a tassled obi belt. Even upon third viewing via Style.com, I still can't begin to understand some of her more literal translations and some styling choices - mandarin collar cheongsams with knot enclosures and an obi belt to top it off. I felt it was a bit of a Pan-Asian overload. Overall, however I applaud her clear and focused perspective derived from her own personal experience. Her looks are clean, effortless, elegant and yet still allows you to be cool. What more do you want?
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