The latest Trovata collection was laden with so much backstory that the clothes had their work cut out for them to make much of an impression. Throughout fashion week, a couple of Eastern European "aristocrats" had been making disturbingly anomic appearances at shows and parties accompanied by a large and remarkably passive cat. Turns out they were a setup designed to preview designer John Whitledge s collection. Which, in turn, took as its inspiration a fictional 28-year-old private-school teacher in Manhattan in 1981.
More pertinent than both of these conceptual exercises was surely the real-life drama of the Trovata trio s split, leaving only Whitledge to carry the label forward. He made a game attempt, focusing on finer fabrics, redefining the silhouette. The bold linings, the secret pockets, the distinctive closings (particularly an enamel hook and eyelet) are part of Trovata s charm, as is the sense of layers of clothes with a story to tell. The problem was that unseasoned schoolteacher. As a conceit, it lacked the engaging complexity of last season s scuba-diving-explorers yarn, and added little new to the Trovata vocabulary. Perhaps striped and plaid button-down shirts or boxy suits in wide-wale mulberry corduroy and navy felted wool were intended to suggest the buttoned-down spirit of the classroom, but it felt better to focus on the gutsier outerwear, like a parka, a duffel, and a brown corduroy coat with a big knit collar.
