Watters turns 40: How a family business in Dallas scaled to 36 markets

In 1986, Vatana Watters started designing wedding dresses for her family and friends in Dallas, with no big plans for the future. “I wanted them to feel beautiful in the dress, not simply dressed like a bridesmaid, and ideally to want to wear it again. It was very personal and very small in the beginning,” she told FashionUnited. On Wednesday, Vatana will celebrate 40 years of her international luxury bridal fashion house at The Rosewood hotel in London. “It’s still a little surreal to think that those first dresses became the

Watters operates with four collections — Watters, Locket (formerly Wtoo), Willowby and By Watters — sold in 36 countries. The anniversary celebration is both a milestone and a statement of intent: “Forty years is certainly worth celebrating, but we aren’t very interested in standing still,” Watters said.

From Dallas trunk shows to New York Bridal Fashion Week

The shift from a small Dallas business to a national bridal brand came in stages, anchored by early retail and editorial validation. A trunk show for Neiman Marcus delivered an unexpectedly strong response from brides and bridesmaids, followed by growing attention from the bridal press. But the real turning point arrived when Watters took her collection to New York Bridal Fashion Week.

“We arrived with a collection and a lot of optimism and excitement. We were so new, we didn’t even have all of our prices finalized,” she said. The editorial coverage and industry interest that followed made her realize “this little business I had started in Dallas might become something much bigger.”

Evolving with the bride, not away from her

Over four decades, Watters’ design point of view has shifted alongside the women who wear the dresses. What has remained constant is the brand’s focus on fabric, detail and fit. “There should always be a sense of ease to a Watters gown, even when there is an extraordinary amount of work behind it,” Vatana said.

That philosophy now extends across multiple labels, each aimed at a different facet of the modern bride’s wardrobe. “As we listened to our customers and watched the way women were shopping, it became clear there wasn’t just one Watters bride,” Vatana said. “Each collection gave us room to explore a different point of view, price point or moment in her wardrobe. They have distinct personalities, but they still belong to the same family.”

A mother‑daughter partnership and the next chapter

In 2017, Watters’ daughter, Sydney Watters Rohleder, joined as style director and helped launch By Watters. “Having Sydney join the company has been one of the most rewarding chapters for me, both personally and creatively,” Watters said.

Sydney brought “a younger, more fashion-driven perspective to the business and helped us think beyond the traditional bridal gown,” her mother noted. “She understood early on that brides were building an entire wedding wardrobe, not just shopping for one dress.” By Watters became a space to be “a little more playful, a little more immediate and sometimes a little more daring,” while pushing the wider company to rethink styling, content and how it speaks to a new generation.

For Vatana Watters, that collaboration has shaped how she thinks about legacy. “What I’ve learned from working with Sydney is that the best way to protect a legacy is to give the next generation room to challenge it, reinterpret it and make part of it their own,” she said. Looking ahead, she wants the brand to balance history with forward motion. “I hope it feels like a balance of heritage and momentum,” she said. “There is so much history here, but I never want Watters to feel overly precious about its past.”

Global growth, local style

Today, Watters gowns are sold in 36 countries, with particular momentum in the UK, Germany and across Europe, as well as continued growth in Australia and Canada. For Watters, international expansion is less about scale for its own sake and more about deepening relationships in each market.

“For me, international growth isn’t simply about adding more dots to a map,” she said. “The interesting part is developing deeper relationships with each market and understanding how brides in different parts of the world shop, celebrate and express themselves. Bridal may be universal, but style is wonderfully local.”

What has change for brides

After 40 years in bridal, Watters sees a clear shift in how women approach their weddings. “Bridal has become much more personal and much more fashion-driven,” she said. “Today’s bride isn’t necessarily shopping for one wedding dress. She’s building a wedding wardrobe: rehearsal dinner, ceremony, reception, after-party, honeymoon and everything in between.”

That move toward multiple looks aligns with Watters’ multi-label strategy and its emphasis on individuality. “She wants those looks to feel like an extension of her personal style, which is exactly where I think Watters is uniquely positioned,” Watters said.

Yet at the core, she believes the fundamental desire hasn’t changed. “What hasn’t changed is much simpler,” she said. “She wants to look in the mirror and feel beautiful, confident and completely herself—which is timeless.”

40 years of “making beautiful things with people I love”

For the founder, the anniversary is ultimately personal. “40 years of making beautiful things with people I love,” Watters said. “I’ve had the privilege of working alongside an incredibly talented team to turn ideas, sketches and quite a lot of tulle into dresses that become part of some of the most memorable days of our brides’ lives.”

“The anniversary celebrates that creativity, craftsmanship and sense of joy, but it also looks forward,” Watters said. “Most importantly, I want Watters to remain a company with heart, where creativity is valued, people feel inspired and the next generation has the freedom to take what we’ve built somewhere even more remarkable.”