A Room OfHer Own

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun
NY Sun
NEW YORK SUN CONTRIBUTOR

Fashion designer Amy Smilovic’s clothes have earned quite a fan base among young women, including celebrities like Jessica Simpson and Mischa Barton. Her clothing line, Tibi, which is officially headquartered in St. Simons Island, Ga., is a $15 million company that employs 32 people, including Ms. Smilovic’s husband, who joined the company in 2000 as president. It has accounts with more than 200 boutiques and department stores, among them Scoop NYC, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Neiman Marcus.Tomorrow, the first stand-alone Tibi boutique is set to officially open with a cocktail party in SoHo. But it all started in a Hong Kong bathtub.

For Ms. Smilovic, one big move prompted another. In February 1997, her husband, Frank, was transferred to Hong Kong as president of American Express’ Asia-Pacific region. Ms. Smilovic, who also worked for American Express as a marketing executive, looked at the move as an opportunity to make a career change of her own. “I knew I wanted to start a clothing business, and Hong Kong would be an ideal place for getting things made,” she said recently.

Once in Hong Kong, Ms. Smilovic began formulating a business plan. But while chatting with an entrepreneur at a country club, Ms. Smilovic received some to-the-point advice. “He said, ‘Here’s your business plan: You’re in Hong Kong. Make your product, and if you sell it, you have a business.And if you don’t sell it, you don’t have a business.That’s your business plan.'”

That go-for-it advice was all the prodding Ms. Smilovic needed to start Tibi, her line of chic, contemporary women’s clothing. (The company is named after the grandmother of Ms. Smilovic’s first business partner, Octavia Hyland, who left the company after about nine months.) She registered for a business license and found a local factory to produce the items she had designed — mostly mini skirts and simple shift dresses. “I had them make up 400 pieces and held a private party at my house, and I sold $10,000 worth of clothing,” she said. “We were storing clothing in kitchen cupboards, in the bathtub. But it sold.”

For Stefani Greenfield, co-owner and cofounder of Scoop NYC, one of Tibi’s first clients, Ms. Smilovic’s line held an immediate appeal. “It’s really got a spirit,” she said. “It’s clean, sophisticated, and trend-inspired. They’ve got a vintage ethos, but it’s always fresh, modern, and new.” Ms. Greenfield said Scoop is doing more business with Ms. Smilovic than ever before. “I think now is really their time.I see such an amazing energy in the business right now.”

On a recent afternoon, Ms. Smilovic, wearing a chocolate brown Tibi dress and Chloe ankle boots, was sitting in her new retail domain talking about the evolution of her business. “When you start a line, you always think about what a store would be like,”she said.But “design and retail are two different animals. For us, we wanted to focus on the line.Then you wake up one morning and realize it’s time to open a store.”

It took nearly eight months to find the perfect space. Tibi’s design offices are in SoHo, and Ms. Smilovic wanted the store to be there, too.”SoHo is one of the only areas that still has 2,000- to 3000-square-foot spaces available that have character,” she said. “We wanted a place where we could really create our whole lifestyle and environment, and showcase the clothing.” The neighborhood also attracts an international clientele, Ms. Smilovic said, and developing international business is important for Tibi.

Ms. Smilovic hired the design firm ArchLAB Studio to pattern the store after her clothing. “I wanted an environment where people would see that Tibi is about prints and color, but very clean,”she said.The space is airy, with dark hardwood floors and spare racks of clothing. Two couches upholstered in vintage black-and-white patterned fabric sit in the center of the space atop a bold yellow-and-white rug that Ms. Smilovic designed. Two enormous metal canopies, painted in a black and green floral pattern, hang from the ceiling.There’s even a small children’s play area to allow mothers to shop without worrying about keeping their tots entertained, something that was important to Ms. Smilovic, the mother of two young boys.

The store, which quietly opened for business in mid-September, has already surprised Ms. Smilovic. For one thing, much of the foot traffic has come from people “who are walking in and have never heard of the brand.” Another surprise: The five top sellers in the store so far are not Tibi’s signature prints, but solids. “It creates an interesting dilemma for us,” Ms. Smilovic said. “When retailers come to us, they just want the prints, but the reality is people want a lot of solids. It makes me think about how we will do solids that will be special.”

Early on, Tibi’s success was occasionally marked by the minor missteps of a first-time designer. When Ms. Smilovic first started out, she envisioned Tibi only as a spring and summer line. After all, her collection was “resort-y,” perfect for wearing on vacation in the Hamptons and Nantucket. “Neiman Marcus said, ‘Are you kidding? We don’t just bring in a line and hold a space.” Then, when her first official collection was produced in 1998,the bust darts in the dresses were too deep. Stores called with complaints, and Ms. Smilovic ended up donating 500 dresses to an Indian reservation in Kansas. Then there was the time a factory owner told her they needed more interfacing.Ms. Smilovic thought he was talking about face-to-face communication; in reality he meant the interfacing that is used to line jackets.

“My husband was like, ‘Amy, you don’t have a design degree; we’d better get some major designers on staff,'” she said. She did eventually add a technical designer position to the company, when she and her husband moved back to America after four years. But she knew there could only be one vision — hers. “As far as the look of the collection, it has to have one strong viewpoint,” she said.”My role now is really more of a creative director; formulating what the look of the season is going to be, making sure all the groups are working together towards that look, and developing all the prints and fabrications.”

She also trusted that her skills as a corporate executive would serve her well.”Honestly, the reality is that if you’re going to start a fashion business armed with either a business background or design background, the person with the business background is probably in a better seat. It’s all about money when you’re starting out; producing a lot of goods and using that investment to start the next group. It’s really important to have a business background and a good idea.” Luckily for her, she had both.

NY Sun
NEW YORK SUN CONTRIBUTOR

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.


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