Gina La Morte has worn many hats during her journey to her new socially responsible company called TRADE: a celebrity stylist; fashion and style expert; reporter; author; speaker; and social entrepreneur. She has styled for Bloomingdales, O-The OPRAH magazine, The Nelson Mandela Foundation, People StyleWatch, Conde Nast Traveler, MTV, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Hotels & Spas Worldwide and worked with celebrities and designers including; Katy Perry, Seal, Usher, Heidi Klum, Jessica Simpson, Nick Lachey, Mario Lopez, Narciso Rodriquez, Zac Posen, Michael Kors, Zang Toi, Missy Elliot, Buddy Valastro of Cake Boss and many more. She founded the award-winning, socially conscious and sustainable style magazine, Boho which told the stories of socially conscious entrepreneurs and partnered with brands, personalities, and products that were focused on social change. Perhaps this is where Gina first thought to do something beyond the glamor and glitz of the red carpet and photo shoots? But there was more on her path of experience.
La Morte was a regular on the celebrity circuit, attending the Academy Awards and Emmy’s reporting on celebrities who made socially conscious choices of what to wear on the red carpet. Magazines and media including; BRAVO, ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, MTV, InStyle, Associated Press, USA Today, Life & Style magazine, OK! Magazine, Fitness, Women’s World, The Los Angeles Times and others. Again the wheels were turning in her head while a shift was occurring in her heart. All of her experiences were leading her to another place.
So fast-forward to now. What is this creative high-achiever doing today?
Gina La Morte gathered all of her considerable talents and in 2017 designed and launched her own brand of socially conscious handbags called TRADE by Gina La Morte. The line was created by Gina to raise funds and awareness for victims of human trafficking in the USA. It works with partners to create jobs for these women through her local TRADE studio in New York. Twenty percent of the net profits are donated to several charities supporting the recovery of these girls and women. Gina says she also sponsors an outreach and co-op initiative to provide counseling and financial support. As she tells it, “Our goal is to employ women coming out of transition from life altering experiences. We are working to get their vision back and restore what’s been lost. Helping them in this transition is an important role we want to play in a woman’s life.”
She employs local craftsmen to make her TRADE handbags. “All of our bags are made locally here in NY and NJ. We are deeply committed to employing local fashion industry artisans who need to continue to work and feed their families. We want to keep the work here in our community.”
Visit TRADE:
202 Bellevue Avenue, Upper Montclair, NJ
See her collection:
www.TradebyGinaLaMorte.com
Listen to her story:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=7RjSkrsIArY
And if this isn’t enough, she has written a book “Designing Your Dream” that helps other entrepreneurs live their dreams, and is available at Barnes and Noble, Amazon and wherever books are sold.