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Diane Cha has recently left her senior position at Gap Inc.’s Athleta brand to join Ayr, a virtual label with 17 employees and no offices or headquarters. Cha will work from her bedroom in Orange County, California, with a team spread across three time zones from Ojai, California to Coatesville, Pennsylvania.
Despite loosening pandemic restrictions prompting most fashion labels to bring employees back to the office, Ayr permanently closed its offices in New York’s Noho neighborhood. Co-founder Maggie Winter and her husband Brice Pattison work from their home in Ojai. This drastic change has resulted in Ayr’s sustained revenue growth: annual revenues have quintupled over three years and reached $50 million this year.
The flexibility of operating virtually has enabled Ayr to attract more experienced professionals from across the country without geographic limitations. When Mallory Snyder posted an opening for a senior creative manager on LinkedIn, she received over 5,000 applications within three months of the posting. “Opening up the team to the entire country gives us access to a deep well of talent,” Winter remarks.