It was 2006, in a small garage near Venice Beach, California. The breeze was easy and soft, and only the quiet hum of a sewing machine could be heard against the distant echo of the ocean. Paige Mycoskie was tediously crafting her future. Stitch by stitch, the 26-year-old immersed herself in screenprint tees and taught herself how to sew. Between shifts at a local surf shop, the Texas-born blonde spent the evenings entranced in texture. “I’m obsessed with extreme quality in all the tiny details,” Mycoskie remarked.
Nineteen years later, she’s the founder of Aviator Nation, a California-based clothing label. Best known for hand-stitched tees and sweatpants you can live in, the now 45-year-old used the pandemic in 2020 to lure in loungewear lovers by selling $160 sweats to young teens and twentysomethings. The blue-eyed designer didn’t just find her niche, she skillfully crafted the ease of salty hair and surf culture into each fiber of her clothing, and in doing so, amassed an estimated net-worth of $490 million, according to Forbes magazine.
Mycoskie’s world offers more than clothes. It’s a lifestyle—one that embodies the West Coast dream. Her dedicated, free spirit emerged from her younger self, who attentively searched the aisles of thrift stores to find the perfect worn-in wears. She was particular, not as much about how clothing looked, but about how it felt—always finding a critique in store quality or design. Her aim was to uncover soft staples that hung “just right” but also effortlessly, allowing the California breeze to pass through them with ease.
Mycoskie loved color and 1970’s nostalgia, so she was disappointed to continually uncover washed-out hues. It was a game changer when she was finally able to make clothing on her own, and she could mimic the vintage quality that she so loved. Not only did she receive compliments from strangers on the SoCal streets, but she was able to continue the small-town feel of this quiet act and turn it into something greater. To this day, each piece from Aviator Nation is made locally by the hands of a tedious in-house team and designed exclusively by Mycoskie.
Some of Aviator Nation’s best sellers include soft, distressed knits like zip-up sweatshirts and matching drawstring joggers, the ‘Ninja’ pullover that keeps long locks intact while beachside, or even the traditional tri-top bikini, designed to wear on spontaneous ocean swims. In addition to loungewear staples, the brand sells denim and accessories like socks, backpacks, and surfboards. There is even an extensive menswear and kidswear line. Of course, the lure of her apparel is the playful graphics—namely the signature smiley face or retro rainbow stripe—that she sought out so deliberately in her youth.
Aside from the creative design, the most fascinating part of Mycoskie’s success is centered around her intentional business strategy. The multi-millionaire chose to take no outside investment to grow her brand. She opted to keep sole ownership of the business by expanding lines of credit from various banks in gradually increasing increments. This way, she didn’t owe anyone anything in return. Any dollar she made, as minor as it was in the beginning, went directly to her.
“I strongly believe the longer it takes to acquire wealth the more you appreciate it,” Mycoskie said. “It’s not about building fast and selling out, it’s about creating a life that you enjoy and having a desk you can’t wait to wake up to,” she continued. “Of course over the years if you work hard and build a successful company, the money eventually comes.”
This added wealth allowed her to expand her brand into so much more. In 2021, the designer extended her casual daywear after dark when she opened the doors to Dreamland, a bar, restaurant, and live music venue in Malibu. The vaulted wood ceiling abode drips floor to ceiling with color and nostalgic furnishings at every turn. Decorated in vinyl records and vintage memorabilia circa 1975, each cozy corner tells a story of its own and speaks a language that is quite similar to her beloved brand.
Aviator Nation has 20 retail locations across the United States, including its newly opened exercise studio, a joint boxing and cycling space, in Los Angeles. Both ventures further honed Mycoskie’s portfolio—reinforcing a brand that is continually growing yet somehow always remaining true to timelessness. “It’s hard to find a product that I don’t think I can make better, so I stay grounded by focusing on making new products each year and making sure they are better than the year before,” Mycoskie said.
In her downtime, Mycoskie settles into one of her many personal properties scattered across the western side of the US. While sitting and pondering her life, she recalls what it’s like to make clothing for people and knows this is just the beginning. “Basically I want the brand to never go away,” Mycoskie said.
Mycoskie lives by the notion that the love we hold for ourselves and others is limitless. “When we are wearing clothes that make us feel good and spread love to people around us at the same time, we are winning.” What she has carefully woven together over the last two decades is a testament to this heartfelt sentiment. The spirit of the 70’s lives on in her clothing and in the hearts of those who receive it.