Who Owns Skims? How the Kim Kardashian-cofounded Shapewear and Apparel Brand Became a $4 Billion Juggernaut
Kim Kardashian’s Skims shapewear and apparel company has rocketed to success, earning a $4 billion valuation.
A reality show star and public figure since 2007 when she and her family began appearing on the TV show “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” she created the brand out of necessity, after spending years struggling to find shapewear that worked for her and blended with her skin tone. She’d even resorted to using coffee and tea bags in the bathtub to dye undergarments darker, or cut up pieces so they could be worn with a skirt or dress that had a slit.
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In 2019, Kardashian teamed with power couple Jens and Emma Grede to launch the brand built on the concept of inclusivity with pieces in nine skin tones, and sizes from XXS to 4XL. She announced the news via her 359 million Instagram followers.
“Kimono is my take on shapewear and solutions for women that actually work,” she wrote in her launch post, which said the brand had been 15 years in the making. The images featured Kardashian and models of varying skin tones wearing bodysuits, bras, underwear and a one-leg bike short dubbed the “solution short,” created with high-slit garments in mind. The photos were taken by Italian artist Vanessa Beecroft, who had worked with Kardashian’s then-husband Kanye West on fashion projects, and still works with Skims today.
A play on her name, Kimono was Kardashian’s first solo venture in the fashion space, following her KKK Beauty brand. And it was controversial from the start.
Kimono Solutionwear as it was called was met with swift backlash from social media users criticizing Kardashian for cultural appropriation and ignoring the significance of the traditional Japanese garment. The hashtag #KimOhNo went viral on social media overnight. And the mayor of Kyoto, Daisaku Kadokawa, issued a statement to Kardashian asking her to drop the trademark.
“Kimono is a traditional ethnic dress fostered in our rich nature and history with our predecessors’ tireless endeavors and studies,” he wrote in the letter. “It is a culture that has been cherished and passed down with care in our living. Also, it is a fruit of craftsmanship and truly symbolizes sense of beauty, spirits and values of the Japanese.”
He added that the city was aiding in Japan’s initiatives to get “Kimono Culture” registered to UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list, and invited Kardashian to visit to experience “kimono culture” herself.
A week later, Kardashian addressed the controversy, via social media, of course.
“Being an entrepreneur and my own boss has been one of the most rewarding challenges I’ve been blessed with in my life,” she wrote in a statement. “What’s made it possible for me after all of these years has been the direct line of communication with my fans and the public. I am always listening, learning and growing — I so appreciate the passion and varied perspectives that people bring to me.”
She changed the name of the company to Skims, and it launched online on Sept. 10, 2019, as a direct-to-consumer business.
The first release was a 36-piece collection that included control top thongs, full-length bodysuits, push-up bras, sheer-sculpting slips, mesh bikini bottoms, bralettes and more. The collection was divided into five categories: Seamless Sculpt, Core Control, Sheer Sculpt, Contour Bonded, Fits Everybody and Mesh Intimates.
The garments were packaged in boxes picturing one of 26 “real models” Kardashian hired to represent the brand, a group that included actual models, her childhood friends, family members and Alice Marie Johnson — a former inmate who was serving a life sentence for nonviolent drug charges until Kardashian helped get her released from prison. The first drop sold out in minutes.
Kardashian is the largest shareholder, but told Time magazine she wished she’d invested more. Imaginary Ventures cofounders and managing partners Nick Brown and Natalie Massenet, famous for her role in launching luxury e-commerce with her site Net-a-porter, were also initial investors, alongside Alliance Consumer Growth, who also invested in Kardashian projects Good American and Safely, as well as Shake Shack, Ouai Haircare and Milk Makeup among other brands.
“Skims may be the most successful company I’ve ever been involved in and it’s both of them hitting their stride,” John Howard, chief executive officer of Irving Place Capital and a Skims board member, told WWD, adding that the Gredes as brand builders “are like great athletes at the best part of their life. And both of them are left brain/right brain people, they’re organized, thoughtful, businesslike, highly creative and they have really good taste.” Kris Jenner is also a board member along with Jones, Brown the Gredes and Kardashian.
A month into the business, Skims had two million people wait-listed for product. “We became a drop model by accident,” Jens Grede told WWD, noting that supply was the brand’s biggest struggle and entire focus at the beginning.
“We sell out because Kim Kardashian speaks to 200 million people on Instagram, which is like five Super Bowls, and we’re doing it every day with a continuous stream of new and interesting product,” said Howard, explaining that Skims was a beneficiary of the pandemic in that customers leaned into loungewear, became more comfortable ordering underwear online — and because the “Fits Everybody” garments are forgiving enough that return rates are lower than average.
After selling direct-to-consumer for 2019, Skims made its brick-and-mortar debut in February 2020, when Nordstrom began stocking it in store and online, soon followed by Net-a-porter and other accounts.
The brand pushed further into retail in 2021, opening its first pop-up shops in Los Angeles and Paris. The intriguing, glossy, curvy spaces were created by Willo Perron, another creative who from Kanye West’s circle.
The L.A. pop-up at The Grove shopping center did nearly $1 million in sales the first week — out of a 500-square-foot biscuit-colored box.
Soon Skims began to expand its product offering. Launching loungewear during the pandemic helped Skims quadruple sales in 2020 with collections like Skims Cozy, made of stretch bouclé yarn.
“I knew it would do well because I’d never seen anything like it before, but we’ve restocked it 10 times now,” Kardashian told WWD. “We just keep adding different colors and we always sell out.” At the time, she also teased Skims’ entry into men’s and into sport.
in 2021, Skims continued to grow its profile when it became the official underwear for Team USA’s women’s teams during the Summer 2021 Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo, joining the ranks of big American brands as Ralph Lauren and Nike.
It was personal for Kardashian, who was raised by the Olympic gold medal-winning athlete Caitlyn Jenner. “Ever since I was 10 years old, I’ve heard every single detail about the Olympics,” said Kardashian in an Instagram post unveiling the collection. “When I received the call inviting Skims to be a part of Team USA, every moment I’ve spent admiring the strength and energy of the Olympians from the sidelines came full circle.”
The capsule collection included T-shirts, leggings, socks and bras with the official Team USA and Olympic Rings branding, and the look book (shot by Beecroft) reflected the brand’s value of inclusivity by featuring Team USA Paralympic track-and-field competitor Scout Bassett alongside Team USA Olympic swimmer Haley Anderson, basketball player A’ja Wilson, soccer player Alex Morgan, track-and-field runner Dalilah Muhammad and more.
Also in 2021, Skims earned a new kind of fashion currency by collaborating with Fendi on a limited-edition collection with much higher price points, including a $4,200 leather dress. Designer Kim Jones created the collection with Kardashian, channeling the design languages of both labels into shapewear, lingerie, swimwear, outerwear and accessories inspired by a 1979 Fendi collection designed by Karl Lagerfeld.
Jones was driven to collaborate with Skims after he noticed women on his design team were glued to their phones for a Skims drop during a meeting. “My Fendi is about creating something for every woman, every different shape — and that’s something at the heart of Skims, too,” Jones told WWD. The collaboration sold out in one minute, generated $1 million in sales, and started Skims on a trajectory of collaborating with higher-end brands, which have included Swarovski, Dolce & Gabbana and The North Face.
In April of 2021, Skims raised $154 million in a series A funding round led by venture capital group Thrive, after receiving a valuation of $1.6 billion. Josh Kushner, brother of Jared Kushner and husband of Karlie Kloss, is managing partner of Thrive Capital, and he is a Skims board member. Imaginery Ventures and Alliance Capital Management were also a part of this round.
In 2022, the brand expanded into swimwear, nabbed the Council of Fashion Designers of America Innovation Award, and generated $500 million in revenue, 25 percent more than projected and 80 percent more than it made in 2021, according to Time magazine.
In December 2022, the brand received a valuation of $3.2 billion after a $240 million series B funding round led by Lone Pine Capital, with additional participation from D1, and existing investors Thrive Capital, Imaginary Ventures and Alliance Consumer Growth.
In 2023, Skims added activewear, and soared to a $4 billion valuation following another fundraising round in July to help move into men’s clothing, and open flagships. The $270 million funding round was led by Wellington Management Group and joined by Greenoaks Capital Partners. Kardashian remains the company’s single biggest shareholder, and she and Grede still own a majority stake.
In the announcement of the round, CEO Jens Grede said, “Kim and I can envision a future where years from today there’s a Skims store anywhere in the world you’d find an Apple store or a Nike store.”
Skims Mens debuted in October 2023 with a campaign starring Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Brazilian soccer star Neymar Jr., and San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa. Products included underwear, T-shirts, tank tops, leggings and socks in a variety of colors that range in price from $16 to $98.
It was one in a long line of influential campaigns that have kept Skims in the pop culture conversation with spokesmodels including Paris Hilton, Addison Rae, Cardi B, Sabrina Carpenter and Kate Moss.
In one of Skims’ most viral campaigns, Lana Del Rey posed for the label’s 2024 Valentine’s Day shop. Ahead of her headlining performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Del Rey channeled her classic Americana aesthetic with help from British photographer and artist Nadia Lee Cohen, who staged the singer in a series of whimsical sets inspired by vintage pin-ups.
The campaign generated nearly $14 million in media exposure according to the data company Launchmetrics, with Del Rey’s own Instagram post earning Skims more than $4 million.
The Skims website offered an exclusive downloadable version of Usher’s ninth album “Coming Home” following the release of his 2024 Mens campaign. The imagery, which depicts the singer in various styles of Skims’ boxer briefs, debuted just days before his Super Bowl halftime performance.
After Skims was announced as the NBA, WNBA and USA Basketball’s official underwear partner in 2023, the brand tapped star athletes Cameron Brink, Candace Parker, Kelsey Plum and Skylar Diggins-Smith for a 2024 campaign. Timed just ahead of the league’s highly anticipated season, the athletes modeled underwear from Skims’ fan favorite Fits Everybody line.
The official underwear partner for Team USA, Skims created a patriotic line pegged to the 2024 Paris Olympics. Star athletes including Sunisa Lee and Caeleb Dressel appeared in the campaign.
In October, breast cancer survivor Olivia Munn appeared in a campaign showing her double mastectomy scars and modeling a nipple illusion bra to raise money for the Susan G. Komen breast cancer foundation.
“There is a whole marketing group chat that we have going on. We send ideas all day, all night, and that’s the fun part…having a feeling that we love an artist or maybe an athlete, and coming up with a really great campaign,” Kardashian said of the brand’s talent-spotting savvy. “I think the internet culture always is wondering, ‘What’s the next campaign?’ ‘Who’s it going to be?’ ‘What have they thought of now?’ and it’s always surprising.”
Kardashian also continues to be a key face — and body — of the brand, however, and it was her who starred in Skims’ small screen debut — a commercial titled “Skims Lab” that aired during the 2024 Oscars red carpet. Directed by Frank Lebon and produced by Wieden+Kennedy, the futuristic advertisement showed Kardashian as Skims’ “chief engineer” testing out bras, T-shirts and shapewear with the help of a clan of Kardashian “Klones.”
The storyline underscored the chief creative officer’s role in research and development, having tested an estimated 7,000 products during the brand’s lifespan.
“I will always love it,” she said of getting in front of the camera for campaigns or her own social media followers. “I know every single product that we have, I have fit every single product that we have coming out. And I know if there is something that slid by me, that I didn’t get the final approval on from the detail on the stitching,” Kardashian said of her role. “And while I don’t design everything for me…if I can, I try to at some point, even if I’m just in my closet, show people how I would wear it versus how it was styled on someone else,” she said. “I love always showing our hosiery and shapewear. I think it’s really important, because I wear shapewear with everything, and I think before [Skims] — it’s not that it wasn’t accepted — it just wasn’t cool,” she said.
Opening more brick-and-mortar is key to the next phase of growth, Jens Grede told WWD in December when Skims opened its first New York flagship, noting that 11 new leases have been signed, including for an L.A. flagship on Sunset Boulevard, as well as stores in San Diego and Palo Alto, Calif., and Charlotte, N.C.
“We have tremendous opportunity — physical, retail, wholesale, international markets, product category extensions. Now we have a lot of levers to pull, and I think we’re just in the first or second inning of building this company.”
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