Daily Front Row

2008 September 5

Trovata - New York Spring 2009

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Trovato Spring 2009
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(NEW YORK) Trovata’s John Whitledge has some classic Fashion Week pranks under his belt (remember the Romanian socialites with their cat?), so attendees of his show Thursday were wary when asked to step into the back of a giant white school bus to check in. Their worries were unfounded: the bus, painted on the side with “petrol… consider the alternative”, is a Rauschenberg-inspired art piece that the Trovata team had converted to run off vegetable oil. “The inspiration for Trovata at the beginning was to surf, travel, and be creative,” Whitledge explained. “We got this great bus and retrofitted it to run on vegetable oil. We drove around the country to visit the stores that stock us.” Once inside, the gallery space was stark and white, and guests like Scott Schuman and Waris Ahluwalia had drinks (John Whitledge’s note in the run of show ended with “tequila shots on me!”) and stood to watch the show. Whtiledge explained his concept as “simple and paired down.” The looks were perfectly preppy, with lots of white and navy buffalo plaids. Blazer sleeves and pant hems were casually rolled, and nautical details like knots and gauzy scarves capped off the “ivy-leaguer’s lazy summer days on an island” theme. Whitledge’s quirky touch was definitely present, however: models in white laceless keds dipped their shoes in paint before walking, so by the end of the show the runway was covered in colorful footprints.