Sometimes I get approached by people that don’t share the same energy or style that I feel the brand represents, and I have to pass because I can’t do every project that hits my desk. In 2013, Page was named Menswear Designer of the Year by GQ Magazine. Hours of love go into each piece, and every detail is truly done by hand. A native of Arlington, Texas, Paige Mycoskie grew up the middle child between two brothers. Authentic, California-made, Vintage – sorry, I know that’s technically four! Her older brother Blake Mycoskie founded Toms Shoes on the model that for … Mycoskie informed his software-firm partners in Los Angeles that he had to stay in Argentina a couple more weeks “to see if we can make some of these shoes.” He and Nitti then made the first 250 pairs of what would become TOMS. If you think you are a great fit to partner with us we can't wait to talk more! The brands pieces are signified for their natural stitching, worn-in feel, and vintage essence. When I’m not designing at the beach, I love to retreat to Big Sur to design up in the mountains. © 2021 Forbes Media LLC. Following college, Mycoskie moved to Nashville to found Mycoskie Media, an outdoor billboard company which focused mainly on marketing country music. In a 2012 interview with Fast Company, Mycoskie said it was helpful for him to work with Seva. Paige Smith. Blake Mycoskie (born August 26, 1976) is an American entrepreneur, author, and philanthropist. “Being bootstrapped means they’ve had to operate closer to profitability, and therefore have been forced to focus on key fundamentals—many things we're seeing direct-to-consumer businesses turn to now, like unit economics and profitability.”. In 2001 Myscoskie and his sister Paige applied for the cast of Survivor, (the reality show). I would shop my designs around to factories all over town, but nobody wanted to make my garments because they required so much time and energy. It was a decade ago that designer Paige Mycoskie first included tie-dye as part of her Los Angeles-based brand Aviator Nation to sell at a booth at a music festival. She would go on to fuel this passion with several other successful music partnerships. Mycoskie was born in Arlington, Texas to Mike Mycoskie, an orthopedic surgeon, and Pam Mycoskie, an author. Aviator Nation is a privately owned lifestyle brand of contemporary casual wear founded by Paige Mycoskie in 2006. I plan to venture wherever the wind takes me. How has growing up in Southern California influenced your brand? Reality TV Fantasy Leagues for your favorite shows: The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, Survivor, Big Brother, and many more. You will also receive a ticket to Paige's Interview during SXSW and get exclusive entry to the in-store concert. Luckily I’ve had a lot of amazing people reach out to me. When looking at the company’s remarkable growth, it’s worth noting that it launched when social media marketing was still new: Customer acquisition costs were lower, there was greater social reach pre-algorithm changes, and there was far less competition. Life is good. Each store will be special and different than the one before, and each will be a reason to visit that town. Mycoskie has sourced necessary materials and has put safety precautions in place, like a mandatory employee temperature checkpoint at the entrance, to ensure it’s a safe and smooth transition. Even so, Mycoskie plans to keep the majority of Aviator’s Nation’s revenue coming through its own channels, capitalizing on their 2X year-over-year growth rate and continuing to scale without the aid of venture capital. Monday Swimwear's Natasha Oakley and Devin Brugman, Aviator Nation's Paige MyCoskie, Michi's Michelle Watson talked all things athleisure and what it is like running such successful clothing brands. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Collaborations have been a key way this clothing brand has been able to reach new, relevant audiences. Compete and play along with your friends “The goal wasn’t to build Aviator Nation with these concerts—it was more to give back—but that has come full circle and we’ve seen huge support from our neighbors and locals by regularly hosting these events.”. Not only is the quality extremely high, but the level of detail is unmatched. Yet, Mycoskie needed to figure … I also want to continue to push the boundaries with what can be produced in America. If they say it can’t be done, then don’t listen. Each year the product line is broadened into new categories (like outerwear, mens, childrens, etc.) Today, 14 years later, the company has grown well beyond its humble beginnings. Paige then went on to work with John Mayer, designing his ‘Born + Raised’ tour merchandise. We're always on the hunt for the perfect stores to carry Aviator Nation. If it doesn’t look and feel like real vintage, then it doesn’t pass quality control. You’ve already broken into the world of music festivals and concert merchandise styling. Are there any unique challenges to producing a brand based on the West Coast? Paige Mycoskie, the designer behind California fashion brand, Aviator Nation, is all about 1970s nostalgia. Not only did she design merchandise for the festival that sold out, but she also designed and installed a teepee for musicians to lounge in. The rainbow teepee was outfitted with vintage instruments for the artists to play. I'm a contributor for Forbes covering retail, e-commerce and direct-to-consumer business. Find exactly what you're looking for! He went on to say that this gives established brands a leg up in that they’re now operating sound businesses—which today, many venture-backed businesses are trying to course-correct back to. Vintage, because the Aviator Nation gear truly looks and feels like your favorite vintage sweatshirt you’ve worn a million times. Just last year she was tasked to design merchandise for the Global Citizen Festival, and her designs were featured in New York Fashion Week. Paige’s brand continues to grow. Auditions consisted of the Amazing race. It was an amazing and beautiful and grace-filled day. I moved to Southern California (Venice) about 15 years ago. Authentic, because the brand really is my life and the lives of everyone who works for me. All the while, Mycoskie maintains a hand on all product design, cuts, and graphic elements. That makes me much happier then saving money on less complicated designs. She has truly captured the good vibrations that spell out West Coast style through the worn-in vintage feel, retro surfer dude, and hippie that can be seen in all of her apparel. California-made, because we have our own factory in Los Angeles where all of our gear is made. Matthew "Matt" Ladley (born May 17, 1991) is an American snowboarder who won the gold medal in the superpipe at Winter X Games XX. So far Aviator Nation has done several short-run product releases with partners like SoulCycle and Gibson Guitars, both of which sold out within hours. You may opt-out by. For 2020, the business is on pace to clear $50 million to $70 million in sales. I want to be known for many years to come to be the brand that makes the most comfortable hoodie and pair of sweatpants in the land. IMDb's advanced search allows you to run extremely powerful queries over all people and titles in the database. So I guess that answers your question about the advantages, too. Of the ones who’ve made it through the proverbial “dip” and are still around, what competitive advantages do they have over emerging retailers? Aviator Nation’s five stores in California include: Venice Beach (2009), Manhattan Beach (2011), Malibu (2014), and San Francisco (2015). Blake Mycoskie's idea, noted the Wall Street Journal, "has soulful simplicity: For every pair of rubber-soled 'alpargatas' shoes Mr. Mycoskie sells to the affluent, he gives away a pair to someone who needs it. I'm a contributor for Forbes covering retail, e-commerce and direct-to-consumer business. All Rights Reserved, This is a BETA experience. The date of Paige's interview will be between March 12- 18. Live. He is the founder of Toms Shoes and co-founder of Madefor.. A native of Arlington, Texas, Paige Mycoskie grew up the middle child between two brothers. I want my customers to continue to have reasons to come back to us, and I want them to be excited each year to see what we will do next. Music, surf, and a true California lifestyle not only inspire the designs but they are also the backbone of my team and the lives we live. The business remains bootstrapped, and has seen 100% revenue growth every year since 2014. Love. Eighty percent of those sales are direct to consumer (a 50/50 split between online and physical retail sales) while the remaining 20% comes from a curated selection of wholesale partnerships. I want my fans to have fun, too. Designed under Mycoskie’s direction, the first brick-and-mortar Aviator Nation store opened in Venice’s Abbot Kinney shopping district in 2009, and it included a stage on the store’s back patio where concerts and performances were held. Having this gathering space positioned the store as a popular community hub for shoppers and also allowed Mycoskie to give her musician friends a (literal) platform on which they could perform. I actually grew up in Texas! To date, the company ... [+] has taken no outside funding. Physical retail presences have also been an important facet of the brand’s growth. I want to keep the spirit of the brand alive and continue to build our Aviator Nation community. If you ask Philip Soriano, the GM for East coast operations at e-commerce software company Yaguara, he says their lean growth experience over the past decade is invaluable. Word of mouth from loyal customers has been another important organic growth channel, but strategic product line expansion into new verticals has been a major boost to a larger customer base and increased sales totals year-over-year. These things and being active outdoors fuels me to design. While Mycoskie conceived the idea, a "Sight Giving Partner," the Seva Foundation, was contracted to administer the actual program, which launched in Nepal, Tibet, and Cambodia. I'm particularly interested in news and trends within the fashion, beauty and. So what’s driving their growth without the aid of venture capital? I quickly noticed how most L.A. factories just wanted me to design something that was easy and fast to produce, so they could get it out the door fast – but that didn’t line up at all with what I wanted to design.