Halmos and Shipley Leave Trovata
After five years, Trovata co-founders Jeff Halmos and Sam Shipley are leaving the contemporary brand they launched as a foursome with Josia Lamberto-Egan and John Whitledge.
Lamberto-Egan left the company this summer when he moved out of state. Halmos and Shipley say they are leaving the company— which has earned awards from Ecco Domani and the Council of Fashion Designers of America—on Jan. 1 because of creative differences.
Halmos, who acts as the brand’s head of marketing and sales, said he and Shipley, Trovata’s designer and art director, have plans to launch a men’s and women’s contemporary brand of their own after they leave the Newport Beach, Calif.–based company. The as-yet-unnamed brand will debut for Spring 2008.
Whitledge, the company’s president and creative director, will remain at the company. Halmos said he, Shipley and Lamberto-Egan “are working at selling back” their stake in the company. The trio collaborated on the Fall and Resort 2007 collections. Whitledge’s first solo Trovata collection will bow for Spring 2008.
In a press release, the brand said it has been experiencing significant success and has plans to continue its growth by expanding into e-commerce on its Web site and by opening its first free-standing flagship store.
“The company has never been stronger, and we have an amazing team on board,” Whitledge said. —Erin Barajas
