...Lost Leaving La Jolla
hellip;Lost, the Irvine, Calif.–based surfboard and skateboard maker, will be taking its apparel in-house after the Fall 2011 season, said owners Matt Biolos and Joel Cooper. La Jolla Group—an Irvine-based maker of action-sports licensed apparel for brands such as O’Neill, Metal Mulisha and Rusty—had been producing hellip;Lost-branded apparel under a license.
Biolos said the move is an attempt to bring a cohesive look to the whole hellip;Lost brand. “In recent seasons, hellip;Lost apparel hasn’t reflected our surfboards or skate boards. There was a disparity between the clothing and the boards. The two parts of the business didn’t relate to each other,” Biolos said. “Taking the apparel back [in-house] gives us a chance to do our own thing. We want our vibe to be consistent.” Going forward, the brand’s apparel will be “lighter, more fun, more colorful,” he said.
The transition will be gradual, Biolos said. La Jolla will ship the Summer 2011 collection. “Fall ’11 has already been designed [by La Jolla Group]. We were able to affect the T-shirt offerings.” hellip;Lost, which initially produced T-shirts and some apparel in-house, has already hired designers to begin work on future menswear seasons. Future collections will include the categories established by La Jolla, including boardshorts, T-shirts, wovens, denim and accessories. “But instead of 60 T-shirts, we’ll do 30; instead of 23 boardshorts, we’ll do 15,” Biolos said.
The brand, which, under its La Jolla Group license, also produced women’s apparel and swimwear, will put its women’s offerings on hold. “We hope to get back into women’s after the Holiday 2011 season. It will have a beach-y, swim vibe,” Biolos said.
Toby Bost, La Jolla’s chief executive, said the move is consistent with the company’s diversification strategy.—Erin Barajas
