Tibi
Tibi designer and founder, Amy Smilovic, began her career in the fashion industry shortly after moving to Hong Kong in 1997. Following a successful marketing position 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 was influential at an early age when Amy began to bring her vibrant fashion ideas to life through unique illustrations. Each season Amy designs a range of prints that match her sense of style and distinctive approach to dressing.
Tibi has expanded from ready to wear into shoes and launched a swimwear collection for Resort 08. It is now one of the largest contemporary lines found in over 350 specialty stores and upscale department stores around the world including Saks Fifth Avenue, Henri Bendel, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales, 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 combined 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 Worldwide Marketing based in New York; and President Merchant Services Group for Asia. Amy and Frank run the business from the Tibi loft in Soho.
In 2005, Tibi was hand picked 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 60’s inspired mini dresses, tunics and bikinis for the hotel. Tibi was also asked to custom design one of the hotels 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. Tibi will be launching a full home collection in spring 2009.
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 will be the first of many in the comprehensive Tibi retail strategy.
www.tibi.com
