Tibi Eco Nylon Cropped Bomber

Cropping a jacket is a proportion decision and almost nothing else. A conventional bomber ends at the waistband, so a wide trouser or a full skirt begins underneath a horizontal line and has to fight it. Crop it above the waist and the volume below starts clean, uninterrupted, from the point where the jacket stops. That is the whole idea, and everything else on this jacket follows from it. The zip runs two ways, which matters more than it sounds: opening it from the bottom lets the hem sit open over something full rather than clamping down onto it, so the jacket can be worn closed at the chest and released at the hip. The shoulder is dropped, which softens the line of a shape that is otherwise quite structured, and the trim at the cuffs and the hem is a knitted rib, which is what a bomber has instead of a hem and what makes the cropped length sit rather than ride. There is a proper collar at the neck rather than a knitted band, which is the detail that keeps this on the design side of the line rather than the sports side. The cloth is a polyamide, smooth-faced and very light, so the jacket has no weight to it and does not need any.

We are interested in outerwear that solves a proportion rather than adding a layer, and there is very little of it. A cropped bomber is one of the few jackets that changes the shape of an outfit rather than just covering it, and this one does it in a cloth light enough to carry all year.

One hundred percent polyamide. Made in China. Midnight navy. Cropped silhouette with a dropped shoulder, a two-way zip, a collared neck, ribbed knit trim at the cuffs and hem, a welt pocket at the chest, and slant side pockets.

Cropped above the waist and cut with a dropped shoulder, so it reads fuller across the top and shorter in the body than a standard bomber. The rib at the hem gathers it in, which means it will sit rather than ride up over volume. It takes a fine knit or a tank underneath comfortably and will feel crowded over anything substantial. The cloth has drape and no stretch, so it moves rather than gives.

Over the Washable Cashmere Oversize Easy T with the Tropical Wool Maxi Skirt, which is the pairing the crop was drawn for. Over the Alec Jean in Classic Blue for the plainest version. Over the Sculpted Cotton Long Sleeve Top, structure under structure. Midnight navy against black is a harder pairing than it looks and worth attempting, because the two are far enough apart to read as a decision.

A light polyamide shell washes easily and cannot take heat, which glazes the surface and damages the zip tape, and a knitted rib will distort permanently in a dryer. Clean gently, hang to dry, and close the zip before it goes anywhere near water so the teeth do not catch. Our care guidance covers nylon and technical cloth.

For a cropped layer with a lapel on it, the Cavalier Twill Shrunken Blazer. In the same technical register below the waist, the Nylon Zipper Trouser and the Nylon Lantern Skirt. The Tibi designer page has the house’s own account of itself. Layering With Tibi is the Library post that puts these together, and everything we currently hold from Tibi is listed together.