The Label: Amid all the arty theatrics of other young labels, Trovata’s slightly tweaked preppy looks stand out. In 2002, California friends Jeff Halmos, John Whitledge, Sam Shipley, and Josia Lamberto-Egan launched a capsule men’s collection during their senior year of college, and when they made their New York runway debut for fall 2005, they introduced women’s apparel as well. Since then, they’ve racked up the awards: a $25,000 Ecco Domani, the coveted $200,000 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, and most recently, the CFDA’s Swarovski Perry Ellis for menswear. Ripping a page from The Official Preppy Handbook, the quartet touches on all that is WASPy: well-worn blazers and chinos, striped ties, toggle sweaters, and plenty of corduroy with mismatched buttons. Every season, they concoct satirical tales to accompany their collection, usually about rich folks gone bad. Fall 2006 was about murder at a fancy ski lodge—the weapon: a fondue fork.
The Look: Artfully disheveled prep.
The Designer: All hailing from non-fashion backgrounds, the team met through a maze of connections. Whitledge and Halmos grew up together, Halmos and Shipley roomed together at the University of Colorado, and while at Claremont McKenna and Pomona colleges respectively, Whitledge and Lamberto-Egan met through their girlfriends. And lest we forget, all four are gorgeous.
from NYMag.com
