Meet the Stylist: Fana Haile

From Tibi's New York Flagship

We often receive questions about our stylists—where are they from? How do we find them? Or rather, how do they find us? The beautiful thing about being a mindset brand rather than just another clothing brand is that these connections happen organically. Each of our stylists is a Creative Pragmatist at heart and, in turn, an extension of our brand’s ethos. They are curious individuals with diverse points of view—demonstrated on their individually branded Instagram accounts where they connect with clients on a personal level. If you’ve interacted with our stylists yourself— in-store, over Instagram DMs, or at a styling event overseas — you’ll know that it feels like chatting with an old friend, who just happens to be an expert at funneling their expertise through a CP lens. What you may not know, however, is how their points of view came to be. So, we’re inviting you to take a walk with our stylists and get to know them a bit better.

Fana’s Starter Kit:

• Active Knit Scottie Jogger

• Albert Heel

• Charlie Men’s Slim Shirt

• Compact Ultra Stretch Knit Stirrup Legging

• Crispy Nylon Winslow Pant

Gabriel: Who is Fana?

Fana: I was born in D.C. I’m Ethiopian. My parents immigrated to the U.S.—my father in the 70s and then my mom in the late 80s. Right now, we’re in a fast, but our fast is different than Muslim fast—ours consists of no red meat and no dairy. Fish is optional. So, I’ve been hyper-fixating on this Ethiopian spot in Bed-Stuy right off Franklin Ave that serves all vegan Ethiopian food. The last time I went [to Ethiopia] was in January of 2024 for my cousin’s wedding. I wore all Tibi. It was the talk of the town.

Gabriel: How do you start your mornings?

Fana: Hmm. I’ll probably stop my alarm maybe three or four times. Naturally, I’ll wake up around 5:30, go to the gym downstairs, and then go back to sleep. Then I’ll hit my alarm a few times and I’m up.

Gabriel: Are you ordering in for dinner or going out?

Fana: I moved back to New York recently. A lot of my friends moved, too, so it’s a little bit of both. Back home—when I lived in D.C.—I would definitely go out to eat multiple times a week with my girlfriends, friends, clients…but New York is slightly different. I want to get back into going out to eat, going to restaurants, all that stuff.

Gabriel: So you grew up in D.C., did you go to college?

Fana: Yeah, I did. In D.C. Funny enough, I went to school in Boston for two years and then I figured out that I really do want to study fashion. So I transferred to VCU and studied fashion merchandising and marketing.

Gabriel: What was growing up in D.C. like?

Fana: I was raised in a suburb maybe 10 minutes outside of D.C. called Prince George County. It was great—looking back I think I was slightly sheltered because we have such a huge Ethiopian community, akin how there's so many Dominicans in New York, like they kind of run New York. There's a lot of Ethiopians in D.C. in the DMV area so it was great. I was surrounded by family and friends, but I never really went to school in PG County. I went to high school an hour and a half away and that was definitely culture shock.

Gabriel: Were you driving an hour and a half every day?

Fana: I would take a bus, but yeah an hour and a half there and back every day.

Gabriel: Why was that?

Fana: So Prince George's County is, I mean I think at the time, was the most affluent black county in America, and my parents thought I was slightly, maybe not sheltered, but they wanted me to experience different things, and St. Mary's County is a whole different vibe. They thought it was important just to be exposed to that community or those people.

Gabriel: How did you get dressed for school?

Fana: I had a uniform.

Gabriel: A good uniform?

Fana: I graduated high school in 2009, we would wear skorts, button-ups, ties, and boat shoes, but I would kind of zhuzh it up. For perspective, it was probably the first time I had seen that many white people in one room, which definitely a culture shock, I was like where am I, and then I think I became a little inspired by the people, the preppiness, because it was something I was never exposed to, but in tandem prep was also a trend at the time. Sperrys were big, people would wear polos and layer them with button-ups underneath or wear polos with like a graphic shirt and pearls, so it was really interesting. I think I am a sponge in that wherever I am I kind of immerse myself in the scene, and it was fun, I really remember it being super preppy.

Gabriel: So, as a sponge, what are some of the other environments you've been in that you've absorbed from?

Fana: Well high school was one, and then another was when I started working for Barney's New York. I realized I knew certain things that I liked and what I gravitated toward but as an undergrad I didn't know, maybe, the real designer behind it. I would gravitate towards, maybe, a Helmut Lang cut skirt, but I probably bought the dupe unknowingly. As an undergrad I used to work for this vintage boutique called Rumors and it was kind of a cultural hub, where you would go to buy vintage, find out about a cool party, meet cool people, and I think while working there, I gravitated toward things, but didn’t know the origin of it. Then, when I started working for Barney's, I would be like oh I actually bought a dupe of that Dries blazer without realizing.

Gabriel: This reminds me of that scene in Devil Wears Prada where Andy is laughing at the blue sweater and Miranda just completely decimates Andy because she has no idea how deep the origin of the color cerulean truly goes.

Fana: Yeah it's always more than that, so definitely those scenes, the vintage store and Barney’s, are big influences.

Gabriel: How was your parents' style an influence in your own journey?

Fana: My parents are the most stylish people ever. Actually, looking back on it, my parents are quite preppy; for instance, my dad used to wear a lot of double-breasted blazers.

Gabriel: What did they do for work?

Fana: Both of my parents were the first from their families to go to school and graduate. My father was an accountant; he used to do bookkeeping, and then when he came to America he was on a scholarship. After that, he had his own cleaning business and owned a parking lot—and my Mom, even though she graduated from higher education in Ethiopia, when she came here [America], she went to undergrad and studied accounting. Now, she's the CFO of the accounting firm she works for.

Gabriel: Did they change at all from when they moved from Ethiopia to the U.S.?

Fana: No, my parents were always fly, like always fly. Believe it or not there was a Dapper Dan version of an Ethiopian man—think Dapper Dan in America but the Ethiopian version—in Adis, which is the capital of Ethiopia. He used to make custom suits and custom dresses, and my father would get all his clothing from there all the time. He would find the fabrics, and then go get it custom made. That was the vibe.

Gabriel: Okay, so parents had an influence, school uniform, slight influence, working at Barney's New York, influence on the style choices. And today, where do you see it kind of culminating into what it is now?

Fana: Well, now, looking back I think there were clues all around me, even for color. For example, I didn't know how much I appreciated and loved color.

Gabriel: Yeah I was going to say that’s interesting because any time that you are styling, there's a lot of color. I remember when you styled me, I felt feeling slightly pushed in the colors that you chose because I never wear, for example, pastels like those anymore.

Fana: Believe it or not, before the pandemic, this [what I am wearing right now] was a typical Fana look. All black, some texture, definitely a turtleneck. But I think after the pandemic, something shifted in my like psyche and I was like, I want to incorporate more color. I do believe in color theory. I think color theory is real. And I just started experimenting more. But then when I look back on it, my family, our Ethiopian roots, if you look at like our priests and just throughout the culture, it's so colorful. The colors are so rich and vibrant. I think in the back of my mind, that was always there.

Gabriel: Can you tell me a bit about working at Tibi, learning Amy and Traci’s approach to color and combinations, and how their perspective has shaped your approach to color and styling now?

Fana: I really appreciate the way that Amy put pen to paper because in styling my clients, I never had the verbiage or really a formula to follow, it was pure intuition. And it still is a lot of instinct, but before I didn't have the words behind it. Now I’m like, oh, this is the reason why it makes sense, and with the color wheel, I think it's helped a lot. Not to sound cliche, but it really has taken the guessing work out of getting the rest right. I think it just makes it easier and more fun. I really enjoy combining new colors and trying different things through this lens of Creative Pragmatism.

Gabriel: What would you say, then, are those adjectives, the CP adjectives for you?

Fana: For me I think sporty is definitely one because I love a baseball hat, I love a sneaker. Maybe also tailored because I do love a suit. I'm definitely a suit girl, I love a blazer. The third one I'm still working on. I don't know….

Gabriel: Maybe the third is fluid?

Fana: Yeah. Ooh. Okay, that could be it because I am kind of a chameleon in that way. Depending on where I am or how I’m feeling sometimes I like to just switch it up.

Gabriel: Which I think everyone, to some extent, experiences. I think everyone wakes up in the morning and they don't necessarily feel the same way every day. I mean, I know I feel different from day to day. What are the keys then to figuring out, or easing those days where you are not necessarily sure of what you want to put on, or how you want to present yourself?

Fana: Well, for me, I know I love a good blazer, I love a good turtleneck. When in doubt, I'm probably going to throw on something all black like I did today. I have my favorite blazer on, which is the sculpted blazer we did last spring and a black featherweight turtleneck. This is just where I feel most powerful, coupled with a slicked back bun because I think my personality is very bubbly and warm, and sometimes in a work setting that can give off the wrong message. So, I want to mean business.

Gabriel: So you have a staple for sure. Would you say that it's okay to re-wear the same outfit?

Fana: Absolutely. I think if you have a formula that works for you, go for it. Why not? I don't think fashion should be even taken that seriously. I am very pragmatic in my clothing. I want to be comfortable and able to move around and be my best self. So, yeah, it's not that deep.

Gabriel: What are the without fails on those days where you feel more fluid that you can just throw on and feel like yourself, where you don't have to think about it too much?

Fana: So definitely, depending the season, a good blazer. This blazer that I'm wearing today is my absolute favorite, but I could always throw on a Liam too. I love our tropical wool cargos. I think the silhouette and the fabrication are just perfect. I love a good Sid. I just love our fundamentals. Those are my without fails without a doubt. Our tank tops, I love a Giselle tank. I think the quality is incredible. Our featherweight turtlenecks. I'm pretty boring.

Gabriel: Yeah, but I mean the fundamentals are the least boring, boring items because they always have something in there that's like a little bit unique.

Fana: Totally

Gabriel: Because of the base of your fundamentals and kind of the grounding nature that they give you, what are the have to have pieces that you use to elevate the base?

Fana: Hmm, okay. With color theory being a real thing, one item that definitely feels like me is that orange scarf, the blanket scarf. I always love orange . I think my love affair with orange started when I began to incorporate colors every so often and now everyone associates me with that blanket scarf, specifically in that shade of orange. So that feels like me, and I also wear the red Oscars a lot and it almost mimics like a burnt orange, I think those probably feel the most like me.

Gabriel: When you are styling, out of the three theories of one, ton, or none, which do you gravitate towards the most? Or do you kind of use them all?

Fana: I use them all. Fashion is not glamorous at all. We’re really working, sweating and running around. So I have to also be somewhat pragmatic and it depends really on the event I’m styling for, what I'm doing, and how I'm feeling. So it could be any of the theories at any given time. I really do utilize all three. It just depends.

Gabriel: You've established yourself as the go-to stylist, at least at Tibi, and probably before as well, for guys. Why guys?

Fana: It’s funny you mention that. I had no intention of being in menswear at all. It just happened really by chance. When I started at Barney's, this is around 2014, I had no luxury retail experience. It was my first job outside of Victoria's Secret in undergrad. At the time, menswear was not what it is now. It was kind of like low hanging fruit, it wasn't on anyone's radar. This is pre Kanye, pre Virgil, pre Fear of God, all that. So when I started at Barney's, I was put downstairs in the menswear department because that was the only opening and the price point wasn't as high. When I started there, it was easy because Men are like “Oh, this fits, I'll take 10 of them”. But then while I was down there, we started to get Virgil's Pyrex. I think Kanye at the time, was just starting to like venture out like in fashion as well.

Gabriel: What was this like 2012, 2014?

Fana: Yeah, 2014. Prior to that what we carried at Barney's was a lot of Paul Smith. A lot of Greg Lauren. Who else, who else? Just like really basic mens fashion.

Gabriel: John Elliott probably?

Fana: John Elliott was like probably the edgiest thing that we did yeah, that was it and yeah, it was an interesting time. There was definitely a shift and I remember studying at VCU and our fashion history course saying that menswear and children's wear would overtake the women's market and I was really seeing it in real time without completely noticing. When I was working downstairs at Barney's I met this guy that was on LeBron's team and that’s how I got to start working with NBA players and we've always maintained that relationship.

Gabriel: When I tell someone what Tibi is, I say it's a women's forward luxury brand. I say that because I wear all the clothing myself, so it's women's forward, but I think at least 70% of the pieces in each collection can be worn by guys. And probably 100% if you're confident enough. How has it been styling guys at Tibi?

Fana: It’s been fun. It really all started after the fashion presentation last February of 2024 when I first met Karolina. We went to a bar that night and met a bartender. We exchanged info and I started thinking he should come model, so I asked him to come the next week. He came over to the Tibi store, we dressed him in I think like three or four looks, and yeah that was it, that was the start of me just trying to expand the the clientele. Even when I first walked into the boutique I thought to myself this is a stylist dream, it's size inclusive, it fits mostly everyone, and it's a really cool and interesting silhouette so why aren’t more guys shopping here.

Gabriel: Okay, last question—who’s your hero?

My dad.

Gabriel: Tell me more

Fana: Because he's changed so many lives.

Gabriel: Would you say that he has at all influenced you in fashion and in your life decisions?

Fana: For sure, for sure, my father was always my biggest cheerleader. He passed away two years ago, but he was always my biggest cheerleader and he always encouraged me to just go after what I wanted. He had a really hard life and he came to America to give me and my family a better life, so he is why I'm trying to just always do my best and put 120 percent into everything I do. He’s definitely my biggest hero and my biggest inspiration.

Gabriel: Okay, sorry I have one more spontaneous question. If you were to style your dad in Tibi…

Fana: My dad would definitely want a Liam, because he's a suit guy. So probably a Liam, maybe in a navy. Definitely something red underneath, because red was his favorite color. He also loved a khaki situation, so maybe like the chinos. Remember we did that, the silk chino vibe? And yeah, I think he would really like that.