Kim Kardashians.Photo: MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty
Kim Kardashian’s SKIMS brand was born out of a very “vulnerable” place as she sought shapewear to fit her skin tone and body.
Kardashian, 42, has tried her hand at many different businesses, butthe SKIMS brandis the one most personal to her. “It’s just a part of me,” she said inher firstTIMEmagazine cover story. “I take it really personally. It started off of my body and my shapes, and it’s very vulnerable.”
TheKardashiansstar launched SKIMS with the help ofJens Grede, the husband of Emma Grede, who co-foundedGood AmericanwithKhloé Kardashian. The brandlaunched at the start of the pandemicand offers 10 skin tones and sizes from XXS to 4X, as well as several shapes. Kardashian is the company’s biggest shareholder and itscreative director.
Kim Kardashian.Dana Scruggs for TIME
Dana Scruggs for TIME
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“It started off with simply finding shapewear that was a skin tone that would match my color,” Kardashian toldTIME. “I used to take my shapewear and dye it with tea bags and coffee in the bathtub.”
Kardashian knewthe brand was a successwhen she attended a Hollywood party where someone raised her top to show she was wearing a SKIMS product. “I still have, like,impostor syndromeor whatever,” Kardashian toldTIME. “But I think that’s part of what keeps me going.”
Kardashian previously mentioned herinsecurities in a recentKardashiansepisode filmedin Milan beforethe Dolce & Gabbana show she oversaw as creative director. Her stylist Danielle Levi could not join her at first, so she had to make some decisions on her own. “I was so insecure I couldn’t do anything without my security blanket, and now I can, and on a really big level,” she said in a confessional.
It hasn’t all been smooth sailing forKardashian and SKIMS. The brand was initially called “Kimono,“which drew controversy in Japan. In 2022,she reached a $1.26 million settlement with the SECbecause she did not tell fans she was paid to promote a cryptocurrency. “What I learned was to not really trust everyone in spaces that you don’t really know about,” she toldTIME. “I try to not make the same mistakes twice.”
Kim Kardashian.Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Parsons School of Design
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Parsons School of Design
Kardashian has also featured herself prominently in campaigns for SKIMS, but that might not last forever. “I understand that maybe in my 50s, I’m not going to be wanting to pose in my underwear,” Kardashian said, adding that she plans to reduce her appearances in campaigns each year. Despite this, Kardashian said she will “do anything” she can to “look as young” as she can.
The reality star’s next big venture isan acting role in FX’sAmerican Horror Story: Delicate, which will premiere this summer.Zachary Quinto, who has a cameo in the new season, told reporters he was impressed with Kardashian after meeting her.
source: people.com
