Slate Swim, a minimalist swimwear label based in Los Angeles, officially has a new owner. However, rather than selling to a private equity firm or conglomerate looking to expand its portfolio, Founder Jessica Liao Mayers sold her brand in a "seven-figure" deal to an independent buyer named Natalie Wisniewski on Monday. (Mayers declined to comment further on the financial terms of the deal.)
Mayers was just 21 years old when she founded Slate Swim in 2015 with $300 and a goal of filling the swimwear industry's gap for sleek, minimalist designs. Since then, Mayers has scaled the brand while remaining independent as celebrity fans like Kylie Jenner and Camila Cabello helped drive popularity.
In Slate Swim's early days, Mayers was adamant that she would never sell it, but upon the label's 10-year anniversary, she realized she was ready for her next chapter. "I truly just felt so at peace and like I put in my time and this is its own thing now," she tells Fashionista. "It's completely taken off, it's its own entity."
Photo: Courtesy of Slate Swim
Mayers received ample interest from private equity firms and established businesses, but she knew that when the right buyer came along, the process would be "so smooth." Although M&As are typically complex deals drawn out over months (if not years), Mayers' prediction proved to be right. Mayers and Wisniewski met at the end of April, and the deal closed three months later. (In the words of Lana Del Rey: "When you know, you know.")
Wisniewski, now the owner and CEO of Slate Swim, is a former collegiate NCAA swimmer with a "lifelong passion for swimwear." She graduated from Northwestern University's Master in Integrated Marketing Communications program as recently as December 2025, and lists marketing internships at womenswear brand Mestiza New York and Snoop Dogg's ice cream company Dr. Bombay on her LinkedIn.
"She's going to bring something really fresh to the table," Mayers says. "I'm really excited to see how much it grows." As for what, specifically, comes next, product expansion and international exposure have been discussed, per the founder.
Photo: Courtesy of Slate Swim
Fellow brand founders in pursuit of an acquisition, take note: Mayers credits Slate's lack of founder-focused branding and its "turnkey" operations as prime selling points. Although founder-forward brands have been all the rage recently, building a brand that does not have to rely on the presence of its founder can set it up for longevity regardless of its owner. Plus, Slate Swim's "smooth" systems streamlined the buyer's experience, ensuring that there was no significant restructuring to undertake once the deal was signed.
Mayers isn't fully stepping away from Slate Swim. She will remain a strategic adviser and creative designer, focusing on creating the brand's future collections and advising Wisniewski through the leadership transition. She also plans on returning to her womenswear roots and exploring her minimalist aesthetic through a new category.
"I'm ready for that next step in a new direction," Mayers says. "I love [swimwear] so much, but there's just so much more that I needed to do."
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