Trouble in the camp at Trovata | the Fashion Spot

Trouble in the camp at Trovata

zamb

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Can someone post the complete article if they have an online account.........

Two Trovata Partners to Depart
By Nandini D'Souza
Trovata is going from three to one.

Citing creative differences, Jeff Halmos and Sam Shipley, co-founders of the California-based label, have decided to leave the company, effective Jan. 1, and will launch their own contemporary women's and men's label for spring 2008. John Whitledge, co-founder, president and creative director, will be the only one of the four original partners to remain at Trovata. The fourth founding member, Josia Lamberto-Egan, left the company in June.
 
here you go...:flower:

Two Trovata Partners to Depart
By Nandini D'Souza

121106_1.jpg

The founding members of Trovata: Sam Shipley, John Whitledge, Josia Lamberto-Egan and Jeff Halmos.

Trovata is going from three to one.

Citing creative differences, Jeff Halmos and Sam Shipley, co-founders of the California-based label, have decided to leave the company, effective Jan. 1, and will launch their own contemporary women's and men's label for spring 2008. John Whitledge, co-founder, president and creative director, will be the only one of the four original partners to remain at Trovata. The fourth founding member, Josia Lamberto-Egan, left the company in June.


In its five years, Trovata has won several awards, including the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund last year and an Ecco Domani in 2004, as well as substantial support from editors and retailers such as Barneys New York, Nordstrom, Fred Segal and Henri Bendel in the U.S., and Harvey Nichols in London. The four men met in college, where they started a makeshift clothing line, the seeds of what would become the label's humorous preppy staple.

While breaking up is hard to do, especially when you've been as feted as Trovata has been, the three insisted they are relieved by the decision. "We have had our share of creative differences over the years and feel that, in order for the company to move forward in a positive direction and for us to be happy personally, this is the ideal solution," said Halmos. "Because we're friends, we tried to figure out different scenarios to continue on, but we had just reached a point where no one was happy."

The team tried taking on different responsibilities and splitting up others, such as press, production, design and manufacturing, but to no avail. "Basically, we got more compartmentalized and focused on our individualized talents, which allowed us to do amazing things, but it pulled us apart," said Shipley.

Whitledge believes that, though there's never an easy time to dissolve a partnership, this is the perfect moment for Trovata to do so. "The company is going through a really successful time, and the team that we have on board is incredible," he said. Indeed, one of the hardest parts for all parties has been breaking the news to the company's 17 other employees.

Shipley likened the dissolution to the breakup of a music band. "Like At the Drive-In — when they broke up, I couldn't understand why," he said. "And now that I've been in the same situation ... there's a time when you can't do it anymore. All those guys have started their own bands that are doing really well and they seem to be really happy."

As for retailers, Whitledge hopes they'll be understanding, and the few who might have had a clue that all was not well at Trovata already have shown support.

For now, Shipley, Halmos and Lamberto-Egan will be silent shareholders in the brand, with plans to completely cut the cord soon. "We're working on a way that there will be a buyout where Sam, Josia and I will sell back our shares and we will make what we're calling a clean break," said Halmos.

Whitledge said he is remaining with the company because "it started out of my dorm room and I'm so attached to it. I've always had a long-term vision of where I want the company to be and what I want it to stand for."

That includes, in the near future, a freestanding Trovata store. The upcoming fall and resort collections will be the last designed as a team, and spring 2008 will mark what Whitledge called the "first new season, from scratch."
 
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Hmm sounds interesting...do those big groups ever work out? I mean that's a lot of them. Kinda reminds me of the boy band crazy of the 90's haha
 
I think in order for something like tat to work, everyone has to be on the exact same page and word in terms of designing or at least willingness to try something new. So basically, the three guys that left were just glorified design team workers considering this Whitledge was the creative director?
 
thanks for the full article , Fashionologie
 
i have mixed feelinga about this news, and by feelings i mean a purely mental (not emotional) response to it.
first of all, ive never seen thier work up close, so i dont know how good the quality was. design wise, they never impressed me at all (they did a lot of retailors and editors though, which is probably more important than I am)
i didnt see them bringing anything new or unusual to the industry . On the other hand, as an independent designer , I wish all small companies great success in this difficult business, in which we are constantly squeezed out in one way or another, so i hate to hear things like these. i personally am unsure how far this company can go with one designer, as a part of the image was about four college buddies having fun running a clothing company.........
lets see what happens here on afterwards....
 
trust me zamb,it's not that great. basically like GAP/American Apparel clothes for the hipsters. I saw some of their pieces at Louis in Boston last year and I wasn't taken by any of it at all.

i don't know too much about them in terms of the collective aspects...so I can't comment on their personalities and how that affects all of this. i know whatever the case maybe,their clothes aren't what it's been hyped up to be.
 
Well said, I sometimes liken fashion to music and politics, while many discuss the topics getting more then one to agree on a specific topic can be near impossible at times.
JJohnson said:
Hmm sounds interesting...do those big groups ever work out?
 
I don't know how the label's doing elsewhere, but when I worked at Liberty, you couldn't give that sh*t away. Maybe now that the hype's calming a little, retailers will see the label for what it is.
 
A girl I know interned for them and they were really nice. The clothes never did much for me, it all seems a bit too generic. I was shocked when they won the CFDA award, I wonder if the award should have gone to someone else with recent events.
 
I have a t shirt by them...
..it's cute, whimsical and simple, but yeah...in general I'm not a fan of their designs
 
Mutterlein said:
A girl I know interned for them and they were really nice. The clothes never did much for me, it all seems a bit too generic. I was shocked when they won the CFDA award, I wonder if the award should have gone to someone else with recent events.

indeed ^_^
 
i was surprised when i saw their clothes in person. i appreciate their humor and charm but the clothes really dont live up to the hype imo
 

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