fabric-innovation
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Mike Natenshon and the trouble with a favorite shirt
A discarded tee sent Mike Natenshon from finance into fabric making. At Marine Layer, the business he built with a childhood friend still revolves around a surprisingly demanding idea: new clothes should feel like old favorites.
Mack Weldon made underwear worth buying twice
A better waistband was only the beginning. Mack Weldon’s real experiment is whether everyday comfort can turn a reluctant shopper into a regular customer.
Marine Layer
Marine Layer is a San Francisco-based casual apparel brand built around one obsession: absurdly soft clothes. Founded in 2009 by Mike Natenshon and Adam Lynch, the company built its identity on proprietary fabrics - blends of Supima cotton, MicroModal spun from beechwood pulp, and recycled fibers - sold through a direct-to-consumer model spanning e-commerce and 55+ retail stores. A Certified B Corporation, Marine Layer runs a textile take-back program called Re-Spun that has collected over a million used T-shirts and turns them into new garments. The brand sits in the premium-casual, California-lifestyle segment, competing on comfort, sustainability credentials, and a laid-back aesthetic.