WHERETOGETPAPERPLANES.COM
The short answer: the brand's own About page says Paper Planes was founded in 2014 by JAY-Z and Emory Jones.
Roc Nation, the entertainment company JAY-Z founded, launched in 2008 with the paper plane as its emblem.
Before Paper Planes was a retail brand it was an inside signal.
The brand's own account, on its About page, is that Paper Planes was founded in 2014 as a lifestyle brand by Jay-Z and Emory Jones.
Trademark records and press reports around them attach further dates to the name, and public reporting has referenced filings at different points before and after 2014.
In October 2020 the brand crossed into national distribution: the Crown Fitted launched at Lids, the first national retailer to carry Paper Planes headwear, at $60 in six colorways on the New Era 59Fifty.
Every shop, address and detail is in the full guide, and the store map covers 21 states.