Tibi or not Tibi
Tibi designer and founder Amy Smilovic began her career in fashion shortly after moving to Hong Kong in 1997. Following a successful marketing career at American Express in Manhattan and arriving in Asia, Amy began designing a collection of brilliant must-have pieces. Her father’s interest and talent as an artist were influential at an early age when Amy began focusing on her ability to bring to life her vibrant fashion ideas through unique illustrations.
Each season Amy designs a range of prints that matches her sense of style and eccentric approach to dressing. Tibi is now one of the largest contemporary lines found in over 200 specialty stores and upscale department stores around the world including Saks, Henri Bendel, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom, Net-a-Porter, Harvey Nichols, Harrods and Scoop. Scarlett Johansson, Liv Tyler, Drew Barrymore and Reese Witherspoon are all fans of Tibi’s sophisticated prints, fabulous sense of color and feminine designs.
The Fashion Week tents at Bryant Park are home to Tibi’s fall and spring runway shows. Each collection is heavily influenced by Amy’s lifestyle and travels throughout Asia and Europe, including the beaches of Bali, forests of New Zealand and Mediterranean landscape of Capri. These comprise her uniquely inspired collections found on www.tibi.com.
Two years into the business, Amy was joined by her husband Frank Smilovic, now president of the company. Frank is responsible for developing and implementing Tibi’s global growth strategy and managing the day-to-day affairs. Before assuming this role, Frank was senior vice president of Gateway’s Japan, Asia and Australia operations. Prior to Gateway, Frank was with American Express for over 25 years in a variety of senior positions including head of finance for Europe; vice president of Worldwide Marketing based in New York; and president of Merchant Services Group for Asia. Amy and Frank run the business from the Tibi loft in Soho.
In 2005, Tibi was handpicked by The Cloister on Sea Island Georgia to develop a collection that would represent the lifestyle at their world-renowned luxury resort. Tibi designed five exclusive prints inspired by the area and a collection of ‘60s-inspired mini dresses, tunics and bikinis for the hotel. Tibi was also asked to custom design one of the hotel’s three premier suites. The suite now features a Tibi zebra pop-art rug, a geometric patterned chaise lounge, and hand painted curtains all developed exclusively for the resort.
September 2006 marked the opening of the first Tibi retail boutique in New York. It has since been flooded with clients from US and International destinations alike. The 2,200-square-foot boutique is located in Soho at 120 Wooster Street and is the first of many in the comprehensive Tibi retail strategy.
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Tibi is exclusively available at Rustan’s Makati.
