Tank Air: The Label, Explained

Clare Robertson-Macleod grew up between Bangkok and London, studied at Central Saint Martins, and started Tank Air after her visa ran out and she had to move home to Bangkok. Her mother modeled in Thailand and her aunt was a designer, and she has said she wanted the clothes to feel the way she felt around the women who raised her. The label now makes its pieces in downtown Los Angeles, and the whole thing rests on one fabric. The Studio Tank is cut from a heavyweight sueded stretch jersey with a matte finish and real hold, so a scoop-neck cami behaves more like something engineered than a basic. The black is the obvious first buy, though the Mangosteen and Tea Stained versions tell you a lot about how this label names its colors. The Half Moon Halter in Celadon and the Dip Halter in Soybean use the same close jersey with different necklines, while the Teardrop Halter in Indigo is a lighter cotton for real heat. The Studio Bodysuit in Blue Hour gives you the tank's fit with a thong back, which is exactly what you want under a low-rise skirt, and the Service Tank in Milk dresses the idea up with looping straps finished in embossed beads. Picture her on a hot Saturday in the Teardrop Halter, wide black trousers, a canvas tote and nowhere to be. What I would skip is sizing up for comfort. The close fit is the point.

The basics get the attention, but the ready-to-wear is where Robertson-Macleod's Thai side shows most. The label tries to keep its essentials in stock and rarely restocks the rest, so these are the pieces to buy when you see them. The Ubon Silk Skirt in Mint is a Thai silk mini with a fold-over rib-knit waistband, and the Thai Silk Sawan Skirt in Deep Purple wraps and ties at an uneven waist, so it swings as you walk. The Thai Silk Wrap Top in Black has long ties that run from the lapel and knot at the front or the back. The Sugarcane Knit Dress in Mangosteen is a tube maxi with pointelle inspired by traditional Thai silk weaving, and it is the piece I would choose if I could only have one. The Nang-Fah Knit in Milk is a batwing top cut shorter in front and longer at the back, and the Goddess of Mercy Knit in Mung Bean is a long poncho with dropped armholes, meant to be worn loose and draped. The Silk Jersey Mini Dress in Black and the Pleated Diamond Top in Chocolate are the evening answer, one a draped tube and one a long sleeve with an accordion-pleated plunge. In our fashion dreams, she is at a night market in the Sawan Skirt and a Studio Tank, hair up, a cold drink in one hand. What I would skip is mixing two silks at once. Let one carry the look.

Start with one Studio Tank in a color you would never pick at a big chain store, wear it for a week, and see how it holds its shape through the wash. That is the real pitch of Tank Air. Robertson-Macleod told Vogue she wanted something in between luxury and contemporary, and the jersey is where that lives, heavy and matte with a hold that makes a simple cami feel considered. Once the fit makes sense, the halters and the bodysuit are easy additions, because they share the same close body. If you run hot, the Teardrop Halter in its lighter cotton is the summer version. The Thai silk skirts and the long knits are a different decision. The label rarely restocks its ready-to-wear, so I would buy the Sawan or the Sugarcane the first time it fits rather than wait for a second chance. Tank Air calls itself quality clothing and ideas in service of the matriarchy, and it shows in the small things, from colors named mangosteen and mung bean to a long knit called the Goddess of Mercy. Keep the rest of the outfit plain and let the cut do the work.