Dean Bradley on Atwater's future

With Dean Bradley and Scott Madison now at Lost to help design the brand’s clothing line post La Jolla Group, I asked Dean what that means for his brand, Atwater.

What was attractive about the …Lost opportunity?

Everything! …Lost approached Scott and I about designing their line going forward and allowing us to simultaneously continue with Atwater on our own.

…Lost has been around for almost two decades with a consistent brand message and a deep heritage in our surf culture. It was an honor for Scott and I to take the job.

What does this mean for Atwater?

All good things! …Lost believes in us and has offered many of their resources to help us navigate through our current situation. Atwater is going through growing pains and this opportunity allows us the time and stability to weather the storm and get back on track.

Will Atwater have a spring line?

We are not shipping Spring, which is tough because we did not want to skip a beat. Production is on hold for the time being but Atwater is moving forward and we are grateful to have new opportunities with …Lost.

What were some of the challenges Atwater faced as a young brand in a tough economy?

We launched Atwater during good times, our first line premiered at the Holiday ASR show in 2006. We made really positive inroads in the first few years opening many of the top tier retailers, we were awarded SIMA’s “Breakthrough Brand of the Year” in 2009, all things very positive for an upstart.

We have been very fortunate to maintain solid momentum despite the economy. Now we are in a transition period faced with the separation from our former business partners, which has not been easy by any means. We have been working diligently to finalize these issues and we believe that once all is settled we are in a great position to move forward. Despite a tough year we are focused on making strategic moves for Atwater’s future!

We appreciate all the retailers and everyone who has shown us support, and a special thank you to …Lost. We work with amazing people and look forward to a much brighter future.