Paige Mycoskie

Paige Mycoskie^[1] (born February 26, 1980) is an American artist, fashion designer, business owner, and entrepreneur, best known as the founder and owner of the California-made 70s-inspired contemporary lifestyle and casual wear brand and retail chain, Aviator Nation.^[2] She is the sister of Blake Mycoskie, founder and Chief Shoe Giver of Toms Shoes. In 2013, Mycoskie was named GQ’s Menswear Designer of the Year ^[1][3] and in 2007 was named one of LA Business Journal’s “Top Bosses Under 30”.

Early life and education

Mycoskie was born in Arlington, Texas to Pam Mycoskie, an author and Mike Mycoskie, an orthopedic surgeon. She has two siblings: younger brother Tyler Mycoskie and older brother Blake Mycoskie, founder and Chief Shoe Giver of Toms Shoes. She attended Arlington Martin High School where she was recognized as a state Volleyball champion. Excelling in sports, she was also on the Arizona State University Water Ski Team while attending ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism. An avid athlete, she still enjoys surfing; scuba diving; water skiing; and snowboarding.

Complimenting her lifelong love of athletics is her infinite passion for music, fashion, and art, most notably the sounds and casual wear made popular through the 60s and 70s counterculture era. Her paternal grandmother Hazel Mycoskie was a master seamstress and owned her own retail store specializing in denim fashions in the 70s, and would inspire Mycoskie to design, sketch, and produce garments from scratch.

Mycoskie spent her teenage years in Arlington on the hunt for 70s^[4] vintage tees and hoodies and attending concerts at Starplex, the nearby amphitheatre. She particularly is inspired by the history and the phenomena created by music and art festivals. Mycoskie cites Woodstock as a major influence in both her work and her personal life as the festival best encapsulates music’s power of connectivity, its ability to reveal our humanity, creativity, and personal expression.

Amazing Race

Mycoskie and her brother Blake auditioned for CBS’ Survivor in 2001, independently sending in their applications. They both made it to final interviews. Realizing they were siblings, executives at CBS offered to cast both of them for season two of The Amazing Race. They agreed to that opportunity preferring to compete as a team. They finished in third place, missing the million dollar prize by four minutes.

Career

In 2001 Mycoskie moved to Southern California^[4] for her first internship at Shape Magazine. She soon shifted focus to freelance photography, video, graphic design, and branding. Opportunities for work in these fields were ideal for her adventurous and active lifestyle. She steadily developed successful campaigns in branding and commercials, and created the TOMS iconic logo for her brother’s company TOMS Shoes. She became a buyer’s assistant at ZJ Boarding House in Venice, CA where her love for clothing was reignited, dedicated to honoring the 70s casual wear style, look, and feel. She realized that the laid-back lifestyle of beach, surf, and sand provided the pivotal outlet for her to channel her life passions collectively. She wanted to create a brand that fostered athletics, adventure, creativity, music, and clothing all in one.

Discovering that vintage clothing was harder to find, Mycoskie decided to create her own clothes, sewing, dying, and designing herself. Debuting with a white hoodie with rainbow stripes in the hood, known as the brand’s “Signature Hoodie”, Aviator Nation was in business. The California surf culture is evident in all her pieces designing clothing, accessories, and surfboards.

Aviator Nation

Mycoskie established Aviator Nation in Venice, CA in 2006. Gravitating towards clothing that suit her active lifestyle, Aviator Nation is a complete contemporary casual wear lifestyle brand, selling T-shirts, hoodies, sweatpants, tanks, outerwear, and hats to name a few. Mycoskie remains true to her inspired era, studying vintage fabrics, the process of fiber weaving, inks, and dye treatments popular in the 70s. Production of garments employ hand stitching and hand drawn graphics, ensuring originality, a vintage essence, and a worn-in feel.

Aviator Nation has a main focus in connecting fashion with music festivals, raising funds for philanthropies, and generating a greater awareness of our collective consciousness. The brand works with Global Citizen Festival by creating festival merchandise with proceeds aiding in the festival’s ongoing campaign to end poverty. The brand also has partnerships with Austin City Limits Music Festival;^[5][6][7] Lollapalooza Music Festival; and with John Mayer’s^{[3][8][9][10]} previous concert tours.

Career Highlights

In 2013, Mycoskie was named GQ’s Menswear Designer of the Year and in 2008 was named one of LA Business Journal’s “Top Bosses Under 30”.

Mycoskie and Aviator Nation have been featured in: LA Times, NY Times, GQ, Vogue, Elle, Harpers Bazaar, Nylon, Self, Fitness, Shape, Travel and Leisure, Malibu Magazine, LA Business journal, WWD, California Apparel News, People, Time, Details, Rolling Stone, Glamour, Foam, Entertainment Weekly, Juxtapoz, Cosmo, Seventeen, Us Weekly, Bloomberg Report, Antenna, Life & Style, Safari

Personal life

Mycoskie is an avid surfer/musician and loves the Hawaiian Islands. Passions for surfing, music, and her Southern California lifestyle are all very present in her signature designs. Music fuels much of her artistry, noting Fleetwood Mac, The Beach Boys, and The Eagles as sound favorites. Aviator Nation’s prints include drawings from Mycoskie’s earliest sketches, and she still hand draws some of the icons found on her clothing from the signature lightning bolts to psychedelic maidens. The use of rainbows and bright colors found in Aviator Nation clothing that has now become the brand’s niche, comes from her mother Pam’s preference of decorating and dressing Mycoskie in bold colors and rainbows prints.

Mycoskie is extremely hands-on with every aspect of her brand. Whether it be painting the inside of one of her flagship stores, drawing each graphic by hand, or communicating face to face with her customers, she is very much involved in each element of the company. She has been referred to as “A Jill-of- all-trades” and described as having “a lively dream-catcher spirit”. Regular visits to the Los Angeles-based factory are part of her weekly routine. Her goal is to have wearers and supporters feel like rock stars when sporting her brand, a full reflection of her own lifestyle.

Mycoskie is a philanthropist and has done projects and events for a variety of non-profits including Charity Water; Surf Aid; Heal the Bay; Surfer’s Healing; and Global Citizen.

She resides in Malibu, California.^[11]

References