The Tibi s/s2011 Collection Show

TEXT,VIVIAN KELLY
Pre-show, backstage, designer Amy Smilovic spoke about how she wants to get away from prints a bit and show fashion that looks like how she herself dresses. For fall in NYC, Amy's in a pair of black silk dupioni trousers w/ self coverered buttons and an easy long sleeve orange silk shirt and heels.


She is most decidedly NOT one of those designers who's backstage running around in gray sweats and pins in her mouth. This extends to workdays at her studio. Everyone needs to come in looking dressed, or you get sent home to change.
Amy put her models in loafers but they weren't generic school girl penny loafers. These loafers boasted a fashionably trendy wedge heel. Even shorts looked "dressed" as in a crean pointelle knit long sleeve sweater worn with well-tailored khaki silk shorts and a super short black tunic dress with matching shorts.



The little zebra print coat was fun but a strong shoulder + black pipinhg trim detail gave it an uptown girl vibe - something 'Serena' might throw on in Gossip Girl.




Instead of pattern, there was an abundance of texture, that included smooth washed silks, basketweaves, crochet, and beaded chiffon. You can pull pieces from this collection, and wear them with others already in your closet or splurge and buy a whole new headto toe outfit for the newer more toned down Tibi look. Designer Amy Smilovic has met her criteria: "to render fashion in an accessible way".

Backstage With Bobbi Brown at the Tibi s/s2011 show

TEXT, VIVIAN KELLY

There are some people that it's love at first sight with. Such was the case with MAKEUP MOGUL, BOBBI BROWN. I first met Bobbi when she'd just started her namesake company and there weren't a whole lot of colors, but she had this great color called "brown", which everyone agreed looked good on anyone and everyone. She wore a lot of black, very little makeup and smiled a lot. The models loved her for her chilled-out attitude, and as the harried PR for Michael Kors, so did I.

Fast-forward 15 years later, and Bobbi's still Bobbi. It was great to get to catch-up a bit with her backstage, at the Tibi s/s2011 show. There she was, adeptly fielding questions fired at her by eager editors and film crews waving mikes in her face, all the while showing the special palette she'd created for the show. Bobbi turned to the crowd of faces and jokingly asked, "You're all from websites? Doesn't anyone work for magazines anymore?" She, like everyone this season who's in the fashion business is marveling at the sheer number of bloggers and tweeters who now cover fashion week.
For Tibi, Bobbi did her signature fresh and clean makeup, which went nicely with the side parted ponytail, accessorized with two clips. The Tibi girl is historically fresh faced but she has some fun too. This season, Bobbi provided that with a thicker eyeliner with her long-wear gel eyeliner to create the winged eye that was the focus for this show. The look was pretty, but not TOO perfect.

Meanwhile, over in the hair area, Aveda stylists Kevin Ryan and Frank Rizziari dealt with hair drama. One of the models arrived on the latish side rushing from her previous show with her long blonde hair crimped to the max and loaded down with product. Frank walked over to take a closer look and warned, "Honey, you have to use water and wash it all out or you're going to cry when we work on your hair".
He turned back to us and explained, "When a model comes with tons of stuff in her hair, dry shampoo will only make the hair grittier and will only serve to mask it. The only thing that works is water." Good to know, as I'd always assumed dry shampoo was the quickie solution to getting product out of one's hair.

I caught my few minutes of face time with Bobbi, and she answered the questions I lobbed over to her.
As to what she wants the makeup to achieve for this [or any show she does] "is for women to look and say, 'I want to look like THAT', wearing those clothes and THAT makeup."
We discussed how she's able to address her ever-exapanding global customer base. When she creates a palette, she thinks about how it has to work for women in England, Japan, and the USA. In short, she wants them ALL to love it.
Bobbi's Best-selling product after all these years is the original BROWN which started it all.
How many sku#'s does she have? "Hmm, I don't know, but I'm really excited about this one"[pointing at the sleek silver croco "TIBI" palette of silvery shadows." I left not knowing how many lipsticks are on the line, but I know I'm getting in line for one of the Tibi palettes when they're out this spring.

Backstage with AMY SMILOVIC at the TIBI fall 2010 show

TEXT, VIVIAN G. KELLY-VAN ZUTPHEN
Runway Images: courtesy of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2010
[Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Mercedes-Benz)
Backstage Images: VGK-VZ & Mark Behnke

BACKSTAGE WITH DESIGNER, AMY SMILOVIC PRE-SHOW

A few hours before the show, while waiting to speak with Amy Smilovic, we fell in love with a little pleated burgundy cocktail dress that had a metallic jacquard top. Glitter has replaced ostentatious blinged-out pieces weighed-down by chunky Swarovski crystals, for the most part. This piece was in the same vein as many of the pieces in CHRISTIAN COTA'S COLLECTION.

Backstage, Amy said, "This collection looks like me". She continued, "I'm trying to take it more about what I want. The biggest compliment was when my Production Director whose been with me since 2002 said, "Everyone looks like Amy on this collection's boards."

THE FE: You have a lot of clients from wealthy enclaves such as Greenwich, CT. I'm amazed at some of the outfits the women wear while out - Merrells, sweats, Uggs..."

AMY: Yes! When you go out you should dress. I think A LOT about how I'm getting dressed every morning. I try to lead by example, I don't want my staff coming into work in just a tee shirt and jeans."

THE fall 2010 SHOW

The slender blondes striding down the runway had Amy's insousciant cool woman -[ not girl] style. Being dressed and looking like a woman does NOT mean you have to have frumpy Congressman's wife style. We're not talking about matchy-matchy suits, and panty hose or a throw-back to Babe Paley either.
Instead, Amy accessorized the collection with berry and burgundy tights paired with platform stilettos that will keep you warm sexy looking. There's a long purple grape wool jersey dress for cold days and a silk splatter paint gown that's just right for an art opening. For the big museum or Red Cross gala, wear the ballerina pink gown and little black faux fur short sleeve jacket.
Ladies, take a page from Ms. Smilovic, take some pleasure in getting dressed in the morning, and PLEASE, lose the Merrels, save those for making snowmen w/ your kids.