With two books and viral styling sessions on Instagram, Tibi founder Amy Smilovic has successfully branded herself as the “Creative Pragmatist,” her guide to building a wardrobe that is distinctive and hardworking in equal measure.
Although she’s tailored it closely to the urban New Yorker, thanks to a collaboration with Il Caroseno group in Castellana Grotte, Smilovic is bringing it to a commune of Apulian farmers. And in the thick of cherry harvesting season, who could be more hardworking?
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Named for the local Church of Caroseno, Il Caroseno has been family run by the Longos since the 1950s when they began cultivating the land with the fruit known locally as “red gold.”
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“Our Nonna [Rosetta] still lives in front of the church where we now have the Osteria,” said present-day owner Francesca Longo whose father Giovanni is head chef. Just above is Camere Caroseno, an 18th-century oil mill they’ve converted into four quaint guest lodges.
Casa Caroseno is “the third chapter of our story,” Longo continued. Nonna’s former residence where Francesca and her brother Giuseppe celebrated his birthday every summer, it recently emerged in May from a five-year renovation project and is now welcoming travelers looking to “disconnect from the digital world and reconnect with nature.”
Similovic, eager to get into the hospitality space, said she was intrigued by Casa’s mission and requested a Zoom meeting. “Francesca was familiar with Tibi and responded immediately with a super enthusiastic “yes, let’s talk.” Five minutes in we knew we would do something together.”
That “something” developed into a small utility-minded capsule collection, consisting of two breezy blue cotton short sets, $415-$435, and a snap-front jumpsuit with patch-pockets ($695) produced by Borghi 1819, one of Italy’s oldest textile mills.
Citing the wide-open skies and Nonna in her humble cherry-stained overalls as inspiration, Smilovic said: “We wanted the collection to evoke the area and represent what you would wear to be part of the environment.”
She tested it out with the accompanying campaign, which was shot on location and features both male and female townspeople going about their daily tasks.
“Tibi designed this collection with real-life wearers in mind,” Longo said, “carpenters, artisans, chefs, servers and farmers from our neighborhood — they’ve tried the pieces and love how comfortable and cool they feel in them…it isn’t just stylish, it’s lived-in and loved.”
The Tibi and Casa Caraseno capsule launches Tuesday exclusively online at tibi.com.