The Ballad of Sorghvliedt

The making of Tibi's Fall 2025 Runway Soundtrack

Following our Fall 2025 runway presentation during NYFW, I thought it interesting to write a bit about the music direction for the collection and the runway show that we hosted at 666 Studios.

Tibi Fall ‘25 BTS | by @gabesmilovic

As many of you know, we have been working with Javier Peral for the last two and a half decades on curating the musical and audio component for our runway presentations. Seeing as our Fall 2025 show was be a private event, we decided to try something we have never done before - to create a custom track from scratch. Specialized runway tracks have been done before, by several historic brands, in collaboration with talented producers, but it is a tricky process with many moving parts that can be difficult, at times, to coordinate. Because there is an inherent relatability in sourcing music that already exists, one that can be deeply effective when harnessed in the right way for the collection at hand, creating something new can thus bring along some risk. Utilizing tracks from prolific artists can help to emphasize important creative aspects behind a collection and offer a link between the clothing and one’s nostalgia or memories through lyrics and sound. This is ultimately the goal of curating music for a runway show - to find a progression of sound and prose, that when combined, enhances the creative direction for the collection so that there is a deeper resonance with the viewer beyond just what meets the eye.

These aspects largely disappear from the fold when crafting an entirely new piece of music, but not completely. The big, multi-layered question is…how do we produce something entirely new, that no one has ever heard before, and yet still resonates with our core principles at Tibi, this Fall ‘25 collection, and consequently with our loyal customers, family, and friends? Therein lies the immensely fun creative challenge, one that I was extremely excited to take on, with Derek and Amy, for our Fall ‘25 presentation.

My first step in this process was to find an artist with which to partner and entrust this challenge - an artist that I felt confident would be able to take our creative direction and employ it, musically. Immediately I thought of Brunello (Chris Krawczyk), a wickedly smart and wildly talented producer out of San Diego who we featured as our second artist for the Tibi Close Friends content series. Chris is a creative pragmatist through and through - his unique sound is a culmination of inspiration from all aspects and phases of his life, not limited to a single genre or time period. More to this, Chris has carefully and thoughtfully honed his skills throughout his young career, having now reached that special point where one can afford to be (almost) reckless. Embracing risk and experimentation, but grounded in his confidence of who he is, this is what Tibi and our Fall 2025 collection is all about, so it was a natural link to have him produce this track.

Brunello | by @gabesmilovic

We met with Chris at the beginning of January and presented him with a deck outlining the inspiration behind the collection. The details of the creative direction, the main color themes and vocabulary, the intimate design elements and from whence they came - literally everything possible. We talked at length about the influential role that Amy and Traci’s experience in the city of Antwerp played in designing the collection. A city rich in architectural and cultural heritage, yet modern in mindset and feel - a near perfect synergy of chill, modern, and classic. A city that doesn’t try to be small, it just is, and yet still maintains a tremendous depth and array of viewpoints and perspectives. A city where the classical elements of its storied history feel uniquely grounded, in a music context, by the modernity of a strong, techy bass-line. We sent Chris photos from our time in the city, sketches of the buildings, and tried to convey the feeling of walking through the historically rooted and stunningly beautiful elements of Antwerp that fill the small, cobblestone alleys throughout the city - with the goal being to somehow combine these elements of classical heritage with forward thinking and progression. This Fall collection is a display of high craftiness with masterful tailoring made whole by fabrications of the highest quality possible - I wanted Chris’ work, through the music, to be a manifestation of just that.

Tibi Fall ‘25 | by @gabesmilovic

Over the course of a month we went back and forth, exchanging new sounds and ideas, honing in on those that resonated most deeply and emphasizing those most applicable to Tibi and our identity at this moment in time. We gave Chris creative direction that out of context may make no sense - direction like “less floating in space, more like a pool”, or “classical violin but really hard and frigid”. As is the norm for most creative collaborations between artists, where we started a month ago looks nothing like where we ultimately ended up. But, because we fully trusted in Chris’ creativity, knowing that he maintains the same first principles as we do, we were confident that through this partnership we would create a graceful piece of lasting work, capturing and cementing an integral moment in Tibi’s history, through sound, quite possibly my favorite creative medium.

Brunello | by @gabesmilovic

I often joke around that a lot of my job consists of merging what I love and want to do creatively with that of the goals of Tibi, and then figuring out how to bring these ideas to life through the brand in a way that makes sense. Sometimes, like when I pitch hosting a sunrise rave at 666 Studios, it doesn’t work out. But, more often than not, if the brand alignment is there, and I can get the team to not just buy in, but truly care about the concept, magic happens. Brunello is an evolving, constantly improving force of creativity in the world of music, and someone I also consider a friend, which has made this project all the more special to be a part of. The Ballad of Sorghvliedt, the track that we created together, is a stunning piece named after a 16th century castle in Antwerp visited by Amy and Traci during their time there. I have been listening to it on repeat for the two weeks - I close my eyes and as the song flows through my headphones I am transported to a second world, one that is both heavenly in sound, and yet rooted in its identity.

We will be pressing a limited run of vinyl with Brunello’s 14 minute track that will pair with the launch of the collection next Fall, but the vinyl will, unfortunately (or fortunately), not be available to the public for purchase (vinyl is another one of those things I’ve been wanting to do forever that Tibi is now in a place to help facilitate). You can, however, find the track on our Tibi SoundCloud and in the campaign films, created by Derek, accompanying the collection.

A huge thank you is in order to Brunello for not just accepting, but embracing this project and absolutely killing it. And, of course, to our entire creative team at Tibi who helped to pull this project from our minds and into reality. I love what we created, so does Chris, and we hope you will love it too.