Welcome to our podcast, Who wears what with Hillary Kerr. Think of it as your direct line to the designers, stylists, beauty experts, editors and tastemakers shaping the fashion and beauty world. Subscribe Who wears what with Hillary Kerr on Apple podcasts And Spotify.
Amy Smilovic, founder and creative director of Tibi, doesn’t fit her personal style – or her brand – into one box. This realization led Smilovic to use the term “creative pragmatism” in her book The creative pragmatist. “The idea came from the frustration I had for years at not being able to define my brand in one word, which seems to be the expectation in the industry,” said Smilovic. As Smilovic notes, creative pragmatists have a creative eye but are rooted in practice. “I coined the term creative pragmatists to describe someone who is very creative and expressive, but they are still very pragmatic,” Smilovic said. “Their feet are really down to earth.”
For the latest episode of Who wears what with Hillary KerrSmilovic talks to Who What Wear editor-in-chief Kat Collings to talk about how she landed on her signature phrase, what defines a Without Fail in your wardrobe, and more.
For excerpts from their conversation, scroll below.
I’m excited to sit down and talk about your philosophy and the book you wrote about it. It’s all about creative pragmatism, a term you’ve coined to describe both your personal style and your design ethos. For those who may be a little less familiar, can you tell us a little about where this idea came from?
The idea was born out of frustration I had for years at not being able to define my brand in one word, which seems to be the expectation in the industry. People ask you, “Are you sexy? Are you edgy? Are you feminine?” I could never say just one, and I had to come up with a word – or at least a phrase – that would help people immediately understand what my brand was about, and that wouldn’t make the focus so unique.
I coined the term “creative pragmatist” to describe someone who is highly creative and expressive, but still very pragmatic. Their feet are on the ground. What they wear should be strongly linked to functionality. It was precisely this idea that someone could be attracted to prints. You might be drawn to color, but you might also be drawn to minimalism and hardcore functionality. People are really convinced that you are one or the other, and I feel very comfortable living in the gray.
I don’t see things in black and white. I know there’s a nuanced middle, but sometimes if you put a name to it, people can wrap their arms around it a little quicker and understand it. It turns out that many people were frustrated by these one-name descriptions. They were much more multi-dimensional than these names would suggest. Creative pragmatism was a good way for many people to describe their style.
Do you find that some pieces you design lean more towards one end of the creative scale and others are more pragmatic and utility-oriented?
In this exercise that started around 2019 with coming up with the idea of creative pragmatists, the next thing I came up with was to describe what needed to be baked into the clothes to make me feel creative and pragmatic at the same time. time. Then I came up with the idea of defining myself by three adjectives. This was around 2020. It was right when COVID hit, and I started talking online and writing more and more stories.
The concept of describing myself in three ways as chill, modern and classic at the same time seemed to sum up what I stood for and what I craved in my clothes. … The pieces I wear the most are always all three of those things. Some things might be a little cooler. Maybe it’s sweatpants, but it still has to be modern and still have a classic element to it. Something may be super, super modern, but if it isn’t a bit effortless and if I don’t see a continuous line to heritage somewhere, then it feels like modernity for modernity’s sake.
We design very strongly in that sweet spot: a balance between relaxed, modern and classic, which a creative pragmatist is attracted to.
You also have this concept of WOFs – Without Fails – and they are an important part of our creative pragmatist’s wardrobe. Will you quickly tell us which ones they are? How much of your closet should be without flaws?
Without Fails is literally the definition, right? … You can pull them out every time and they work without any problems. They’re such a fundamental part of a creative pragmatist’s closet, because creativity is literally 50% of the word, right? You want to be able to express your creativity. You want to be able to push and try new things, but you also want to feel grounded and you want to feel like yourself.
What those without flaws do is that they are so intrinsically you. They are such a part of your body and your makeup. For example, if I were to wear navy blue wool oversized cargo pants. You can give me the most over-the-top piece from Margiela, Loewe, whoever, and I’m going to put it on with those pants, and you’re going to see me in it. But if I put on that Margiela cutout, whatever, crazy, sheer, vinyl thing… If I also paired it with JW Anderson pants, that’s street style. It’s someone else’s style. I wouldn’t see myself there anywhere. I wouldn’t want that over the phone.
Those Without Fails are that through line, so that no matter what you experiment with, you still find yourself in it. … When you go shopping and really want to buy something new, always shop with one of your Without Fails. If I’m trying things on at Balenciaga and I know I’m going to wear it with my big pleated Stella Pant or my big Liam Blazer and it’s going to work together, now I know for sure I’m going to wear it. And I’m going to wear it a lot.
TIBI
Tropical wool Stella pants
TIBI
Tropical wool Liam blazer
TIBI
Pebble Sable easy T-shirt
If I have to buy a whole new wardrobe to support this thing, that’s never going to happen. These without mistakes are your through line. They must have a point of view. When we talk about chill, modern and classic, that modernity is the key. It must have a point of view. I think that’s a mistake a lot of people make. When they buy a basic, they think it should be so casual that they can wear it every day. If something is optional, it is very mediocre. When you choose something to wear every day, you’re basically saying, “I want to feel average and casual every day.” Nobody wants that.
Give your things perspective, but they don’t have to be the whole story. These pieces will work in your closet to ground you, then go get that great vintage piece. Get out your grandmother’s old sweater. If you wear it with the nylon jogger you live in, you will see yourself in it, and it will look like you, and you will be recognized, if only by no one but yourself.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. Then check out our interview with Paige founder Paige Adams-Geller.