In the age of coed fashion shows, it’s no longer a surprise to see men and women on the runway together. That wasn’t the case when Amy Smilovic put male models in her show for the first time, though, back in February of 2016. Her Tibi boys looked good (really good!) in their Lurex sweaters and slouchy trousers, but, as it turned out, the market wasn’t quite ready for them. This was a full year before Gucci and Balenciaga started the domino-effect trend of combined shows, mind you; it’s an understatement to say things have changed since then. Fashion Week schedules are now a veritable free-for-all; our ideas about “gendered” fashion are evolving; and men’s and women’s tastes are starting to merge and overlap, just like the collections on the runway.
Right on cue, Smilovic put guys on the runway again for Spring 2019, this time in unisex pastel suits. Two-and-a-half years after her initial experiment, the response was so strong that she was able to launch Tibi’s first-ever straight-up menswear collection, which drops exclusively at Ssense later this month. “We’ve been working on it quietly,” she said. “We knew we’d gotten it to the right place when all the women in the office wanted to wear the men’s stuff.”
We have a feeling Smilovic’s team will be excited to wear the men’s Pre-Fall looks, too, namely the boxy denim blazers, relaxed trousers, silky “basketball shorts,” and checked suits. It was easy to picture a Tibi girl wearing the shorts with a camisole and Pre-Fall’s shearling-lined flip-flops, for instance, or maybe she’ll pair the men’s denim jacket with the slick nylon joggers from the women’s side. They looked like leather from afar, so it’s likely that guys will want them, too. Or maybe they’ll pick up the “women’s” emerald shearling coat or XXL leather tote. Girls and guys alike will want Smilovic’s new high-top sneaker, which melded the sleek lines of an ankle boot with the thick, curvy rubber sole of a trainer.
Smilovic has described her clothes as simple, yet “not average”—i.e., wearable pieces with special tweaks. That ethos applied here whether you call it women’s, men’s, unisex, whatever. She said she wanted to inject a bit of humor, too: The flared-out strapless dress was styled over trousers, for instance, and the stretchy, sculpted mélange knits came in a surprisingly sweet mint green. Also funny: The swirling lavender, yellow, and chocolate print on a dress was based on an ant farm.
