May 8, 2017

Meet Whitney Shannon of MOVIMENTO in Downtown Los Angeles

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Whitney Shannon.

MOVIMENTO-Apparel was founded in 2014 by Whitney Shannon, a professional dancer/choreographer and celebrity personal trainer. Growing up as a dancer that toured around the world, then transitioning this passion into a professional career, Whitney was in need of an haute couture movable/breathable look that could take her, as well as, her clients from day to night without skipping a beat, thus MOVIMENTO was born. MOVIMENTO as a name, was chosen as it literally translates in Italian to “Movement” which perfectly intertwined Whitney’s passion of dance and athleticism and what the line was meant to be.

Designed from a dancer’s eye, MOVIMENTO is known for is fashion forward innovative design, one of a kind movable fabrics and exquisite cuts that celebrate and move with each women’s unique curve. MOVIMENTO is also a proud compliant garment manufactured company that is produced in Downtown Los Angeles as this is also a passion of Whitney’s, designing locally in Los Angeles at fair wages.

MOVIMENTO has been featured in/on: Perezhilton.com, Hollywood.com, Coachella, Sara Von Gillern (So You Think You Can Dance), Kayla Jannsen (So You Think You Can Dance).

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There have definitely been struggles along the way. Starting this business as a dancer/ personal trainer and having the vision of creating an athleisure line but not necessarily the background has been a steep learning curve for sure. That being said, I knew what my hard lines were and sought out mentors that could help me see my vision. My first hard line was that I wanted to produce in Los Angeles and I knew I would have higher price points because of this. I am paying fair, compliant wages for a better product that will last the test of time so I knew that be an uphill battle and it has but the payoff has beyond worth it and I think the product speaks for itself in terms of quality. I felt that we are so used to lower exported price points that I would be taking a chance that was well worth it to provide an excellent product at a fair wage so I found a manufacture that could guide me in this direction. That manufacture was Alison Barone at Lipstick Prophets in DTLA. This was an expense that proved priceless. It was her and her team (Kinga G, Berenice, Gayane and all of the sewer and cutters) have been invaluable to teach me in my growth. The second struggle was the money to start this new venture up!! I have had to build MOVIMENTO up slowly in the last 2 years as I have funded my line myself from the ground up and have to make new patterns and designs step by step as profits come in. This was struggle, because my mind and desire wanted to go much faster, but this actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise. As I said, I started with no formal training just a dancer knowing intuitively how fabric and designs should move and feel. Because I had to go slow as I had money for new patterns, I was able to learn more and more along the way which I feel is actually making me a better designer every day. So basically, I think every struggle is a blessing (just sometimes you only see it that way looking back!)

Please tell us about MOVIMENTO.
MOVIMENTO-Apparel is a luxury Athleisure line, designed exquisitely in Los Angeles. We are known for our, innovative design, one of a kind fabrics and exquisite cuts that celebrate a Woman’s curve that moves from day to night without skipping a beat. We are most proud of this Company that it is truly designed by me, I sketch, draw and find all the fabrics, finishes and I am a dancer/ athlete (one in the same!) and I have designed this line in a mainstream sense that no one else has done. People say- this is a dancer leggin or a dancer’s bralette but this is designed EXACTLY how dancers dress, move and wear fashion all day long. Dancers are always seen and rarely heard and I have created something beyond wearing a legging, going to spin class and going to coffee. I am designing from a dancer’s heartbeat as I was a student/dancer at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre and being influenced by everyone that came before me- Martha Graha, Alvin Ailey, Lester Horton, Bob Fosse, Capezio, Danskin, Judith Jaminson, Carmen De Lavallade and translating that to present day and saying thank you to all these people that came before me and to the present day saying, Beyoncé, Bruno Mars, Dr. Dre can you hear me? Because I truly believe to follow your heart and take a risk sometimes means you have to do something completely different from what people expect to have great product and that’s what we do. Our kimono, is a great example, completely movable, breathable made with fabrics of today, basketball jersey, vegan leatherette- why do you have to wear a boring warm up jacket after a workout when you can throw our Kimono over our workout bustier, look like a million dollars and walk a runway. This is the world we live in now, a movable, breathable all-encompassing heartbeat and that is what MOVIMENTO is.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite memory from childhood is being 10 years old and knowing I could inspire people with movement. I was never the most technically correct dancer or the best for that matter but I knew how to connect with people through movement and I knew I was powerful in this way and I knew I could make people feel through my movement. I always knew in some capacity that I would translate that gift through my life and I feel so lucky to have done through many different genres, first dance, then training people and now bringing it full circle and connecting that movement and feeling through design and fashion. I would tell anyone, listen to your kids when they tell you their dreams that is usually their heart talking and I am big believer in the cultivation of that. My parents did that for me since I was a young child and because of that, I was able to dance professionally around the world and be where I am today, so essentially this line is a love song to my Mom and Dad for believing in me, It’s just a love song through fashion 🙂

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