Aviator Nation’s Paige Mycoskie Touches Down in New York for Pop-up
Winter is coming, but Paige Mycoskie is bringing a slice of SoCal sunshine to SoHo.
Her Los Angeles-based apparel brand Aviator Nation, known for ’70s-inflected tracksuits adorned with smiley faces and rainbows, is popping up in the high-traffic neighborhood just as holiday shopping kicks into high gear.
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Open for two weeks starting Friday, the outpost will allow Mycoskie, an avid surfer, to test the waters with the East Coast market.
The shop will feature Aviator Nation’s fall 2022 collection of unisex separates in tiger and cheetah prints alongside those with insulated quilting, as well as a limited run of embroidered jackets and tote bags exclusive to the SoHo outpost.
“Our online shop sells to New York almost as much as California, so it’s clear there are a lot of brand loyalists in the city,” she said. A permanent home here could be on the horizon should sales from the pop-up meet expectations, bringing the brand’s retail presence to 18 doors across the U.S., including its Dreamland event and music space in Malibu.
Though Mycoskie arrived on the scene in 2006 with her brother Blake, who kickstarted his Toms line of shoes that same year, Aviator Nation has been in rapid expansion mode since 2020 when members of the TikTok crowd, confined to their homes due to the pandemic, were searching for comfortable pieces that could still draw eyeballs.
Despite shifting interest back toward dressier, going-out fashion, Mycoskie remains optimistic about growth.
“We are more elevated than the average athleisure brand,” said the designer, who was recently added to Forbes’ list of America’s richest self-made women. Touting the success of her recently expanded denim and skiwear offering Mycoskie continued, “We are definitely not slowing down.”
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