Aussie fashion mogul Pip Edwards has revealed the real story behind how she built one of Australia’s most well-known athleisure labels, P.E Nation.
Edwards, 46, revealed that the idea for the business actually came while she was making amends with a friend after they had a falling out.
Edwards revealed that the idea for the business actually came while she was making amends with a friend after they had a falling out. Internet
“This is not the PR story, that’s for sure,” she admitted on The Archive Podcast.
“It was actually from a girlfriend who we had a bit of a disagreement in the past and she wanted to make amends… we sat down and kind of reconciled over things.
“It was late one night in her kitchen – we were chatting and drinking wine – and she was just like, ’What are you doing with yourself?
“Everyone you’ve always worked for milks you… you’re so sporty. Why don’t you do something like PE?”
Podcast host Rozalia Russian was stunned at the realisation that P.E Nation stood for Physical Education, not Pip Edwards.
“Oh, is it not Pip Edwards?” Russian asked.
“That’s the intended pun,” Edwards added, before continuing.
“In that particular moment, a woman who and I had had not had the greatest of histories with and had made amends and presented something to me that I would never have seen.”
Podcast host Rozalia Russian was stunned at the realisation that P.E Nation stood for Physical Education, not Pip Edwards. Internet
“It was right in front of me. My initials were there. The greatest ideas can be right in front of you, but you can be so in the thick of it you just don’t know.
“As soon as she said it, I saw it in my head I could see it straight away.”
Edwards and her P.E Nation co-founder Claire Greaves then firmed up the idea over a “boozy brunch,” she explained.
The pair founded P.E Nation in 2016, with Edwards serving as director and creative director.
She stepped back from her role as creative director in 2024 and returned to Ksubi as creative director, where she had previously been working in marketing and brand strategy.
Pip Edwards stepped down as creative director of P.E Nation in 2024. Instagram/@pipedwards
Edwards left Ksubi in 2026, launching her own company, Pip Edwards & Co.
She had worked across several major Australian fashion brands through her career.
Edwards was the Design Director at General Pants Co. from 2012 to 2016 and also spent four years at Sass & Bide as Senior Creative Designer before that.
Edwards is mum to 20-year-old son Justice, who she shares with her ex-partner, Ksubi co-founder Dan Single.