Despite derogatory comments from ex-husband Ye, Kim Kardashian seems to have proven how successful SKIMS can be without him.
It’s an interesting time to be Kim Kardashian right now, to say the least. The mom of four has been incredibly busy lately, attending to her children, working on her family’s latest reality show on Hulu, and pursuing her law degree.
Not to mention, Kardashian is quite the businesswoman too, having launched various ventures over the years. Among these, SKIMS is, undoubtedly, one of the most successful today. Recently, it was also announced that the reality star is getting an innovation award for the brand, and this comes amid ex-husband Kanye West’s public rants against SKIMS and Kardashian herself.
Kardashian started SKIMs back in 2019 and her vision was quite simple. “Overall, I really just wanted to give people options when getting dressed,” the reality star explained.
“From innovative shapewear that you can wear every day to the comfiest underwear that perfectly molds to your body — I wanted to create a brand that could be relied on as a true solution for how people dress today. In doing this, it was especially important that we were size-inclusive and offered a range of colors.”
Kardashian also confessed that she wasn’t exactly happy with what existed in the market before SKIMS as they would “either flatten my curves, pinch into my skin or roll down.”
“I used to cut up and sew different styles of shapewear together to create the silhouette I wanted because I could never find the shape I was looking for,” she revealed.
In doing so, Kardashian also saw a “gap in the market” as she realized that “there hadn’t been any innovation in this space for so long.”
Since launching the brand, SKIMS has gone into several funding rounds. Back in 2021, the company secured $154 million with funding led by Joshua Kushner’s Thrive Capital. It also included SKIMS’ existing investors, Alliance Consumer Growth and Imaginary Ventures.
Earlier in 2022, the business secured $240 million in fresh funds in a financing round that was led by hedge fund firm Lone Pine Capital and included the participation of Thrive Captial, Alliance Consumer Growth, and Imaginary Ventures once more.
This recent funding also brought up the company’s value to a staggering $3.2 billion. Back in April 2021, SKIMS was already valued at $1.6 billion.
Congratulations to #SKIMS! #KimKardashian, #EmmaGrede, and #JensGrede received the Innovation Award on behalf of Skims presented by Amazon Fashion at the #CFDA Fashion Awards last night.
Photos by @GettyImages pic.twitter.com/JseILlTCfa— Fashion Week (@FashionWeek) November 8, 2022
Just a few years after launching the brand, Kardashian, along with co-founder CEO Jens Grede, and Founding Partner and Chief Product Officer Emma Grede, received Amazon Fashion’s first-ever Innovation Award.
The award recognizes “a fashion visionary, leading with technology and innovation in branding/marketing, social media, customer engagement, performance, or product development, that shapes how customers are shopping for fashion.”
“Similarly to how we work at Amazon Fashion, SKIMS works backward from the customers’ latent needs to innovate on their behalf and provide the solutions they’re seeking, to make shopping easier and more delightful,” Amazon Fashion president Muge Erdirik Dogan said in a statement.
Kardashian was pictured attending the awards in a strapless latex-style dress. She was joined by her business partners and her supportive family.
“SKIMS is delighted to be recognized as the first-ever recipient of the Innovation Award presented by Amazon Fashion,” Kardashian, Grede, and Grede said in a joint statement.
“Thank you to the CFDA and Amazon Fashion for acknowledging our efforts in the industry as we continue to innovate to find solutions for all customers.”
Kim Kardashian Gets Support From Husband Kanye West at SKIMS Launch in NYC pic.twitter.com/kSxb1Cq6Uz
— Gospel Music (@MekoStarr) February 6, 2020
Amid the billion-dollar success of SKIMS, it seems one man who isn’t pleased with the brand is Kardashian’s ex. The outspoken rapper and businessman has taken to social media and the press regarding his issues with the brand, including it being “overly sexualized.”
“I felt like there’s a lot of imagery that was overly sexualized and things that I wouldn’t want to see my wife, and definitely not my daughters, doing in the future in order to sell product,” West said during an interview with Tucker Carlson and Fox News.
West also talked about how he helped SKIMS get off the ground. “Skims is so based on a lot of the Yeezy ideas,” the rapper even said. “I had to use my relationships in fashion in order to establish Kim so fashionable people would say, ‘I’m down to wear Kim’s line.’”
On social media, West also made it clear that he wasn’t happy about Kushner having a 10 percent stake in SKIMS when he only has five percent. “F*** JOSH KUSHNER,” West once wrote. “WHAT IF I HAD 10% OF KARLIE KLOSS UNDERWEAR LINE WITHOUT YOU KNOWING. AND YOU ONLY HAD 5%.”
Despite the rants against SKIMS, Kardashian is continuing to move forward with her business. After all, the reality star/businesswoman has always had expansion in her plans.
“My goal for SKIMS is to continue to expand our product offering and keep finding new ways to create solutions that work for all women, all the time,” she said.
Coming November 11: The SKIMS Holiday Shop. The ultimate gifting destination for everyone on your list.
Preview the SKIMS Holiday Shop: https://t.co/MgP1vEdCYp pic.twitter.com/BFGpkZupri
— SKIMS (@skims) November 7, 2022
Just recently, Kardashian appeared in a video promoting The SKIMS Holiday Shop. “I’m telling you guys you’ll definitely be the best friend and the favorite in your family if you’re giving the gift of SKIMS this season,” she says.
[via]
