Skims

Spanx invented the shapewear category in 2000 and spent two decades as its dominant brand. Skims launched in September 2019 and surpassed Spanx’s valuation within two years, reaching $5 billion by November 2025 on revenue approaching $1 billion annually. Kim Kardashian owns roughly 35% of the company, which makes her Skims stake alone worth approximately $1.75 billion and accounts for the majority of her estimated $1.7 to $1.9 billion net worth.

The brand started with shapewear priced under $100 and expanded into loungewear, underwear, swimwear, menswear, and a joint brand with Nike, following a category-by-category playbook that turned a single product line into a company that now competes in multiple segments of the apparel industry simultaneously. Skims became profitable in 2023, has raised nearly $900 million in venture funding, and is widely expected to IPO, though no filing has been made as of early 2026.

The Story

Kardashian’s relationship with shapewear started roughly fifteen years before Skims existed. She dyed shapewear with tea bags and coffee in her bathtub to match her skin tone because most brands sold “nude” in one or two shades that did not work on her. At the Cannes Film Festival, her team soaked a garment in Earl Grey tea in a hotel sink for thirty minutes, blow-dried it, and she wore it still damp under her dress. She routinely cut one leg off her Spanx to wear under dresses with thigh-high slits and taped the raw edge to her thigh so it would not roll up. The product she wanted did not exist, so she spent over two years developing it, testing roughly 7,000 products during R&D and personally attending every one-to-two-hour fit meeting through launch and beyond.

The brand was originally announced in June 2019 under the name Kimono Intimates, and the backlash was immediate. Japanese users, cultural commentators, and the mayor of Kyoto protested under the hashtag #KimOhNo, arguing that trademarking the word “kimono” for shapewear trivialized a centuries-old Japanese garment. Kardashian apologized, withdrew the trademark applications, and renamed the brand Skims by late August.

Kardashian’s co-founders were Jens Grede, a Swedish entrepreneur who had previously co-founded the denim brand Frame, and Emma Grede, his wife, who had already co-founded Good American denim with Khloe Kardashian in 2016, which was the bridge to Kim. Jens became CEO and handled operations while Kim handled creative direction and marketing through her 364 million Instagram followers. Kanye West served as what Kim called her “ghost creative director,” drawing the Skims logo by hand, hiring photographers, selecting models and colorways, and leading a two-hour meeting with staff about packaging. The Italian artist Vanessa Beecroft, a longtime Kanye collaborator, directed and photographed the first campaign.

On September 10, 2019, the website crashed from traffic before products even went on sale, delaying the launch by an hour. The first collection of 36 pieces sold out in under ten minutes, generating $2 million in revenue and over one billion media impressions on day one. The campaign featured 26 real women rather than traditional models, including Kim’s childhood friends and Alice Marie Johnson, the formerly incarcerated woman whose clemency Kim had helped secure through President Trump in 2018. Every item was priced under $100, sizes spanned XXS to 5X at identical prices with no upcharge for extended sizes, and the line launched with nine nude shades. The brand called it “Solutionwear” rather than shapewear, positioning the products around enhancing curves rather than flattening them, which was the opposite of what Spanx had built its identity on. Within one month, two million people had joined the waitlist.

The Strategy

Shapewear to everything

The expansion followed a deliberate sequence: shapewear in 2019, loungewear and underwear in 2020, swimwear in 2022, menswear in October 2023, and activewear through NikeSKIMS in September 2025. Each category built on the customer base of the one before it. The loungewear launch during COVID lockdowns was the inflection point, with the Cozy and Soft Lounge collections becoming synonymous with pandemic-era comfort and the Soft Lounge Long Slip Dress becoming the brand’s most-purchased product in 2023. Menswear followed because men already accounted for over 10% of the customer base before the category existed. In March 2025, Skims acquired Kardashian’s skincare brand SKKN by Kim, bringing beauty and fragrance into the portfolio.

The accidental drop model

Skims releases new products in weekly drops with limited quantities, countdown timers, and waitlists. By 2022, the brand had accumulated over 11 million waitlist signups. CEO Jens Grede has said the drop model started by accident because the brand could not produce enough to meet demand, so scarcity became a feature rather than a bug. Each drop functions as a micro-event that generates earned media and social media conversation without traditional advertising spend.

The Kardashians as a marketing channel

The premiere of The Kardashians on Hulu spent nearly a third of its three-minute intro inside the Skims offices. In the first episode alone, the brand appeared five times through confessional outfits, showroom scenes, and Kim’s closet. All five Kardashian-Jenner sisters have appeared wearing Skims on social media and in campaigns, giving the brand a combined reach that no paid advertising budget could replicate.

Celebrity seeding and collaborations

The Fenty x Skims collaboration in November 2021 generated $1 million in its first sixty seconds, with 300,000 people on the waitlist. The collaboration originated when Kim Jones’s team at Fendi’s Rome studio noticed all the women went silent on their phones during a Skims drop, which prompted Jones to suggest a collab. The Paris Hilton x Skims Velour collection in October 2020 channeled their early-2000s paparazzi era, and the one-year anniversary campaign featured Addison Rae at the peak of her TikTok fame.

Sports as legitimacy

Skims outfitted all 626 female Team USA athletes for the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, became the official underwear partner of the NBA, WNBA, and USA Basketball in October 2023, and launched NikeSKIMS as a joint brand in September 2025 with 58 silhouettes and a campaign featuring Serena Williams, Sha’Carri Richardson, and Jordan Chiles. Nike’s stock gained $6.7 billion in market cap on the announcement day.

The Numbers

Skims compounded revenue at roughly 50 to 90 percent annually through its first four full years, decelerating to an estimated 25 to 33 percent as it scales past $750 million. The company became profitable in 2023. The $713 million net sales figure for 2023 and the “approaching $1 billion” figure for 2024 are the most reliable numbers because they come from company disclosures at funding rounds rather than industry estimates.

Kardashian’s stake: Her roughly 35% ownership at a $5 billion valuation puts her Skims shares at approximately $1.75 billion. Combined with other ventures and investments, her total net worth is estimated at $1.7 to $1.9 billion, making her the wealthiest member of the Kardashian-Jenner family and one of the richest self-made women in entertainment. Kanye West holds a 5% stake (approximately $250 million) as part of their divorce settlement.

IPO outlook: Skims was reportedly interviewing banks for a potential IPO in 2024, but the November 2025 private raise reduced near-term pressure to go public. No S-1 has been filed as of early 2026.

Controversies

Kimono cultural appropriation

The brand was originally named Kimono Intimates, and Kardashian filed trademark applications for variations of the word “kimono” in June 2019. The backlash from Japanese cultural commentators, social media users, and the mayor of Kyoto, who sent a formal letter asking her to reconsider, forced a public apology and name change within weeks. The episode became one of the most widely cited examples of celebrity brand cultural appropriation, though the rapid response and rename largely contained the damage before launch day.

Myanmar and Thailand labor practices

Skims began sourcing from Bogart Lingerie factories in Myanmar in June 2021, just months after the military coup. Reports alleged that workers were earning below the legal minimum wage and being forced to work overtime without pay. A separate Fair Labor Association evaluation of a Delta Galil supplier in Thailand found that 80% of workers were Burmese migrants working 60+ hours per week, with safety instructions provided only in Thai and workers paying their own passport and recruitment fees.

What You Can Learn

Category expansion works when each step earns the next. Skims didn’t launch shapewear and menswear and activewear and beauty simultaneously. Each category built on the credibility and customer base of the one before it, and the expansion only happened once the previous category had proven demand. Most online businesses that try to do everything at once end up doing nothing well.

Scarcity drives demand even at scale. The weekly drop model and waitlists generated 11 million signups by 2022, turning every product release into a micro-event that created earned media without requiring traditional advertising. If your products sell out, the scarcity itself becomes marketing.

The right partners change the trajectory. Kardashian brought the audience and creative direction. Jens Grede brought the operational expertise to run a billion-dollar apparel company. The NikeSKIMS deal brought athletic infrastructure and $6.7 billion in Nike market cap gains on announcement day. At every stage, the brand grew by finding partners who could do what Kardashian couldn’t do herself, which is the same ownership-plus-infrastructure model that built Fenty Beauty.

Size inclusivity is a revenue strategy. Skims launched with XXS to 5X and nine nude shades from day one, which expanded the addressable market beyond what competitors were willing to serve. Fenty Beauty proved this with foundation shades. Skims proved it with shapewear sizing. The pattern is the same: serving customers that incumbents have decided aren’t worth the effort is how you take their market share.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is Skims worth?

$5 billion as of November 2025, based on a $225 million funding round led by Goldman Sachs Alternatives. This is the company’s fourth valuation, up from $1.6 billion in April 2021.

How much does Kim Kardashian own of Skims?

Approximately 35%, according to Forbes estimates that have not been officially confirmed by the company. At the $5 billion valuation, her stake is worth roughly $1.75 billion. Kanye West holds a 5% stake (worth approximately $250 million) from their divorce settlement.

Is Skims going public?

Skims was reportedly interviewing banks for an IPO in 2024, but the November 2025 private funding round reduced the urgency. No S-1 has been filed as of early 2026, and analysts suggest a potential IPO has been pushed to 2026 or later.

What is NikeSKIMS?

A joint brand (not a collaboration) between Skims and Nike, announced in February 2025 and launched in September 2025. The debut collection featured 58 silhouettes across seven collections focused on women’s activewear, with a campaign starring Serena Williams, Sha’Carri Richardson, and Jordan Chiles. Nike’s stock gained $6.7 billion in market cap on the announcement.

How does Skims compare to Spanx?

Spanx invented the shapewear category in 2000 and was valued at $1.2 billion when Blackstone acquired a majority stake in 2021. Skims launched in 2019 and reached a $5 billion valuation by 2025 with a much broader product range spanning shapewear, loungewear, underwear, swimwear, menswear, and activewear. Sara Blakely built Spanx without outside investors for over twenty years before selling. Kardashian raised nearly $900 million in venture capital to scale faster across more categories.

Who founded Skims?

Kim Kardashian co-founded Skims with Jens Grede and Emma Grede. Jens, a Swedish entrepreneur and co-founder of denim brand Frame, serves as CEO. Emma had previously co-founded Good American with Khloe Kardashian in 2016, which is how Kim and the Gredes first connected.

When was Skims founded?

Skims launched on September 10, 2019, after originally being announced in June 2019 under the name Kimono Intimates. Kardashian renamed the brand by late August 2019 following backlash over the original name from Japanese cultural commentators and the mayor of Kyoto.

What is Skims’ annual revenue?

Skims is approaching $1 billion in annual revenue based on company disclosures at its November 2025 funding round. Net sales were approximately $713 million in 2023, up from an estimated $500 million in 2022 and $275 million in 2021.

What is Kim Kardashian’s net worth?

Kim Kardashian’s estimated net worth is $1.7 to $1.9 billion, with the majority held in her roughly 35% stake in Skims, worth approximately $1.75 billion at the November 2025 valuation. That makes her the wealthiest member of the Kardashian-Jenner family and one of the richest self-made women in entertainment.

Who owns Skims?

Skims remains founder-controlled, with Kim Kardashian holding roughly 35% ownership, Kanye West retaining a 5% stake from their divorce settlement, and the remainder split between co-founders Jens and Emma Grede and institutional investors including Thrive Capital, Lone Pine Capital, Wellington Management, and Goldman Sachs Alternatives. The company has raised nearly $900 million across four rounds without ceding majority control.

Where is Skims made?

Skims has sourced from factories in Myanmar (through Bogart Lingerie, beginning in June 2021) and Thailand (through a Delta Galil supplier), among other manufacturing partners. Both have been the subject of labor reports flagging below-minimum-wage pay, unpaid overtime, and the use of Burmese migrant workers in Thai facilities, which the brand has not publicly addressed in detail.

Sources: CNBC, Fortune, Forbes, WWD, TIME, Retail Dive, Good On You, Remake, Fair Labor Association, Sacra, NBA.com, Hypebeast, Hypebae, Sportico, Complex, Paper Magazine, CBS News