Tia Cibani

One of the most exciting things about fashion week happens before it even begins--getting the invitations. And while many designers still choose to go with the standard invites (don't get us wrong--they're great too!), or emails (more eco-friendly, sure), we're all about the fancy ones. There's just something to be said about getting a little creative--so we wanted to put a spotlight on those designers that went above and beyond. Click through for a look at the coolest Spring 2014 New York fashion week invitations.

New show reviews and galleries are in! Check out Honor, Tia Cibani, and Richard Chai Love.

Tia Cibani described her Spring 2014 collection to me as a "fiesta," and it most certainly was: The floor of her natural light-flooded show space was covered in an inch of fluorescent paper confetti--which kept her 14-month old daughter entertained for the majority of the presentation.

New show reviews and galleries are in! Check out Juicy Couture, Tia Cibani, and Degen.

I had high--yet vaguely undefined--hopes for Tia Cibani's Fall/Winter collection, only the second ever under the designer's eponymous label. When I spoke to the recent winner of the Fashion Group International’s coveted Rising Star Award last week, the only hints she'd give me on what to expect from her new designs were "metallics--pleated skirts." But shiny skirts were just the beginning.

In 2010, Tia Cibani sent the fashion world into a mini state of mourning when she announced she was stepping down from Chinese-by-way-of-Canada label Ports 1961 to start a family, handing over the creative reigns to her sister Fiona. But just two years later (with a brand new baby in tow!) Cibani made a major comeback with the debut of her first eponymous fashion line this past September at New York Fashion Week. And the industry has welcomed the designer back with open arms: Earlier this week, Cibani was awarded the Fashion Group International’s Rising Star Award for womenswear--an honor previously won by fashion heavy hitters like Joseph Altuzzara and Michelle Obama's other go-to guy, Jason Wu. We were lucky enough to grab a few minutes to chat with the designer, who--between attending fittings for her fall '13 presentation next week and being a full-time mom--is at an all time life and career high. Read on for the designer's insights on motherhood, manufacturing locally, and how her own naivety got her where she is today.

Ports 1961's creative director Tia Cibani will leave her post at the end of this month, WWD is reporting. But the brand is keeping the creative leadership in the family, and Tia's older sister Fiona, who has overseen the Ports International brand, will take over at Ports 1961 as well. Tia, 37, served as creative director of Ports 1961 for the past five years, and has been with the company since 1990. Ports is an unusual brand, having redefined what it means to be "Made in China." Originally a Canadian company, Ports was purchased by entrepreneur Alfred Chan (Fiona's husband) in 1989, who moved operations to his hometown in Xiamen, China. Tia moved to Xiamen in 1993, and spent seven years overseeing the brand's development there, before returning to the US in 2003 to launch Ports 1961.

From the minute you entered the big tent at Bryant Park, you could tell that Tia Cibani was going to be working out some Asian influences in her Sprin