TIA CIBANI’S PORTS 1961 AND KICO KIDS – something to smile about on a rainy March afternoon in New York City

Text, Vivian G. Kelly
Images of Ports 1961 and Kico Kids, Richard Spiegel
Image of Tia Cibani, Dan Lecca, Courtesy of Mercedes-Benz

THE PORTS VIBE: Elegance with a tongue in cheek sense of humor
We first met with the Ports’ congenial internal PR Director, Tony Alcindor, who took us through the 300 piece Fall 08 collection. Yes, that’s 300 pieces in the showroom as opposed to only 40 looks shown on the runway, which gives you an idea of how much designer, Tia Cibani, edited herself for the runway show.
This Inspiration for Fall 2008: SCOTLAND, which translated to luxurious tweeds, plaids and plush cable knit dresses.

ECO – FRIENDLY – We were delighted that Ms. Cibani is very animal friendly, no real fur here. Instead, there were some terrific faux fur capes in “silver fox” and “raccoon”. Our favorite was a large raccoon cape that reverses to herringbone tweed one. It’s a stylish fill-in for a light winter coat. Even better, there’s a matching clutch timed with oversize pompoms.
While Ports looks as if it would be prohibitively expensive, it’s actually a bit under the usual range of other high-end designer collections. The reversible cape retails for $675 and the clutch, for $375. If you’re feeling edgy, there’s a whimsical silver fox cape that’s trimmed in a rubber fringe, which vaguely reminded us of Karl Lagerfeld’s famous carwash skirt.
Being that this is a complete collection, there’s also some great eveningwear to choose from. Our favorite, a column dress with a metallic treatment and a pretty neckline, which is one of Ms. Cibani’s signature details.
Throughout the collection was evidence of Ms. Cibani’s hand – the frayed hems and interesting cutouts on the back of a mocha tweed dress.
SURPRISE APPEARANCE
We were pleasantly surprised when the globetrotting designer appeared from the workrooms to chat for a few minutes about her latest endeavors.
LYRA MAG: 300 pieces! You’ve got it all – daywear, eveningwear, those adorable Mary Janes, handbags. What’s your favorite part of designing a collection?

TIA CIBANI: The knits! Designing knits can be technical, but it can also be cozy and charming.

LYRA MAG: Your staff has been telling us that you have a children’s line.

TIA CIBANI: Yes, it’s called KICO KIDS. It’s for girls and boys, ages 2-12. We use very high-end fabrications as we do with Ports.
Kico’s PR Director, Jacqueline LONG appears with a rack of adorable kids clothes that have a similar vibe to Ports 1961 as Tia talks about the line.
As with the big girls’ line, KICO KIDS is priced lower than we anticipated. Pieces are in the $125 range. While it hasn’t been publicized as Ports 1961 is, we think Tia’s got another hit on her hands with this cute but sophisticated kids collection. A good thing gets found out sooner than later; urban and suburban moms will be snapping these chic pieces us in no time flat. The line is available at Barney’s NY and LA and on the website
www.kicokids.com
To view more Ports 1961 designs, go to
www.ports1961.com