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Daily Fashion & Runway News
Sep 07, 2007
With Perry Farrell, Selita Ebanks, and Robert Verdi.
During their senior year of college in 2002, California friends Jeff Halmos, John Whitledge, Sam Shipley, and Josia Lamberto-Egan launched a capsule men’s collection under the name Trovata. They made their New York runway debut three years later, introducing women’s apparel as well. Since then, the label has racked up major awards: a $25,000 Ecco Domani in 2005, the coveted $200,000 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund the following season, and the CFDA’s Swarovski Perry Ellis for menswear in 2006. That same year, Lamberto-Egan left the label to live with his girlfriend in Seattle, and Shipley and Halmos departed to forge their own label, citing creative differences. Since then, Whitledge has carried the label solo, to critical praise. Trovata opened its first stand-alone boutique in Los Angeles in August 2007, and the line is carried in more than 250 stores across the U.S. and abroad, including Barneys, Odin, and American Rag. The Trovata look embodies disheveled prep: well-worn blazers and chinos, striped ties, toggle sweaters, and plenty of corduroy with mismatched buttons. Every season, the label concocts satirical tales to accompany its collection, usually about rich folks gone bad, like a murder at a fancy ski lodge involving a fondue fork or a wealthy family gone bankrupt.
“Trovata has a unisex feel; the masculine clothes have a self-deprecating charm and the women's clothes have a playful take on menswear. Both sides benefit from the encounter.”—Marion Maneker “What the Other Half Wears,” The New York Sun
“In the past, the fun and games at Trovata—capoeira demonstrations, guest rock stars, actors pretending to be Eastern European aristocrats—have sometimes overshadowed the main event. But this time it was all about the clothes: More mature and well thought out than previous seasons, Spring featured ankle-length silk shirtdresses, drop-waist frocks, and plenty of structured jackets (one standout had an Empire-pleated back).”—Romney Leader Style.com
“Preppy with a distinctly nautical edge, John Whitledge's lineup of twill shorts, silk chiffon shirts and a navy knit jumper struck just the right note between trendy and wearable.”—Women's Wear Daily
John Whitledge