Tank Top Tales
The tank top may be a simple basic, but to designer LaMicah Hughbanks, it was an opportunity to redefine herself.
Having launched her first brand in 2019, LaMicah started with reworking upcycled fabrics. From two-piece sets to button ups and suit jackets, LaMicah created anything she could get her hands on. “I started thrifting clothing and making up crazy designs, it was all very DIY,” LaMicah explained.
Originally from Michigan, LaMicah moved to New York City after completing nursing school. It was only when she arrived in the city that she started to feel a pull towards a more creative path. “I got tapped into the creative world right away,” she noted of the city’s energy, “Being in Michigan, you’re just not exposed to things the way you are here in NYC.” Eager to feed off of the momentum, LaMicah bought her first sewing machine for $25. Within months, she was hooked (and quickly bought a larger machine).
When the pandemic hit in 2020, LaMicah began to rethink her career path. “I fell out of love with nursing and realized I needed to figure out what was next for my brand,” she added. It was then that she discovered the tank top.
“I started getting into tanks. I was ordering them from a sustainable manufacturer and using natural dyes to make them my own,” she said of her early designs. From turmeric to cochineal to soda ash, the world of natural dyes quickly inspired a new direction for LaMicah’s designs. Until her supplier disappeared.
Needing to pivot quickly, LaMicah took the leap into pattern making. “When you rework a garment, you have a basic template to work off of,” she explained, “So when it came time to make my own patterns from scratch, I was intimated.” LaMicah faced the challenge head on and signed up for a course at Parsons School of Design, where she learned the basics of sketching patterns.
Hit with a boost of confidence, LaMicah then set out to find her fabric. Wanting a more scalable fabric than her upcycled pieces allowed, LaMicah was on a mission to find a cotton fabric that suited her tank design — without compromising on sustainability.
“Whatever changes I’ve made with my brand, I’ve always stuck to my sustainability values,” she explained.
After searching for various alternatives, she landed on an organic cotton blend made in the United States. “If you were to take this fabric and put it in the ground, it would disintegrate,” LaMicah said proudly of her fabric’s biodegradability.
Now that the pattern and fabric had been secured, it was time to land on a graphic. “I am a big Sex and the City girly, so I was playing around with a few images when a friend suggested getting them printed directly onto my tanks,” LaMicah explained. Direct-to-garment printing, as opposed to screen printing, allows the image to be embedded into the fabric, which is favorable for stretch-friendly designs. “One of my friends wore it and loved it,” LaMicah added, “Sometimes it’s the people around you who give you the best feedback.”
With more and more interest in the Sex and the City tanks, LaMicah began to explore other nostalgic icons like Aaliyah, Girlfriends and Destiny’s Child. The late 90s and early 2000s has served as a major source of inspiration for what is now ANAÉ, the latest iteration of LaMicah’s brand revival. As she reflects on her brand’s journey over the years, she’s proud to have found her way back to herself, “Anae is my middle name, so this chapter feels more like me.”