How Skims Changed the Marketing Game

September 2nd 2024

Today I'm going to be writing about one of my favorite brands and how their marketing strategy propelled their business to success. Skims is a brand started by Kim Kardashian back in 2019 and has seen immense growth since their launch. I'm really excited to be talking about this as I actually own several items from the brand and am passionate about the marketing campaigns she creates.

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Kim Kardashian is a well known celebrity, with her rise to fame starting all the way from her assistant days to Paris Hilton. Kim remained mostly unknown until her very infamous sex tape with her boyfriend Ray J had been leaked online. This basically propelled her and her family into stardom, with their famous reality TV show "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" landed its first season.

While some have critiqued the family for gaining fame seemingly for no reason other than being dramatic socialites, as well as Kris Jenner's marriage and divorce from Caitlyn Jenner, Kim has managed to create a name for herself. She has said numerous times that she enjoys throwing herself into her work and has started multiple businesses, including a makeup line, energy drink, and several perfumes. However, her most successful business started in 2019, when she and Jens Grede started Skims. This was a brand that sold underwear, loungewear, and shapewear that was friendly to all body types and skin tones. Kim served as the brand's creative director and the CEO Jens Grede and COO Emma Grede managed the celebrity brand relationships.

Paris Hilton & Kim Kardashian

In 2023, the company was valued at 4 billion dollars, which was an extremely incredibly achievement for Kim and her brand. As much hate as the Kardashians get, it seems like the general consensus online is that despite everything, Kim sure does know how to run and market her business.

In the past several years, Skims has launched several marketing campaigns and advertisements that has propelled their business into the spotlight. The company's attention to pop culture and trends helped their brand to become a Gen-Z favorite and amass over 6 million followers on Instagram.

Below I'll be sharing some of my favorite marketing campaigns from Skims.

Skims & The Icons

Skims & The Icons Photoshoot

In 2022, Skims launched the ICONS campaign, which as the name implies, reunited all the icons in modeling. Supermodels Heidi Klum, Tyra Banks, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Candice Swanepoel all were photographed next to Kim Kardashian modeling the products from Skims. This marketing campaign was one of my favorites as it showcased the timelessness of these models at an older age as well as created a significant moment in pop culture for the internet to talk about. Skims was also able to position themselves along the ranks of Victoria Secret and Aerie as a serious competitor in the intimates field. Most importantly this campaign highlighted the message of unity and empowerment for all women.

Skims & Swarovski

Skims & Swarovski

Skims campaign in 2023 collaborated with Swarovski, a crystal based jewelry and accessories brand. Skims showcased their shapewear decked out in luxurious crystals and gems which exuded a feeling of luxury and sophistication. The timing of this campaign was an extremely strategic move on Kim's end due to several factors. The first being the controversy surrounding Kim wearing Marilyn Monroe's crystal dress to the Met Gala in 2022 as well as Swarovski's recent rebrand in 2021-2022 that brought them immense success and popularity. Having the campaign around this time created buzz and excitement online, causing many people to create reviews or videos on the collaboration. This partnership showcased unique pieces from Skims and established them as a trailblazer in the fusion between high fashion and functional basics.

Skims & Team USA

Olympian Fred Kerley (Left) & Olympian Sunisa Lee (Right)

Recently, the 2024 Olympics in Paris were held, where thousands of athletes came to represent their country and win a medal. During this time, many people feel intense patriotism for their country to win and represent them well. Kim Kardashian utilized this buzz and passion for the Olympics to collaborate with several athletes in a marketing campaign as well as created a gifting suite in Paris that treated Olympian and Paralympian athletes to a full collection of products. This exclusive pop-up comes after Skims got athletes like Sunisa Lee, Gabby Thomas, and Jessica Long to star in a retro campaign for their brand. These athletes can be seen in Skims outfits while fitted in red, white, and blue.

I thought this was such a cool campaign when it came out and it was a smart idea to utilize these athletes to show that Skims can create athletic wear. Out of all these campaigns we've seen, Skims has shown that they can be versatile in their basics and elevate it to something greater.

Skims & Celebrities

It's no secret that Skims collaborates with all the "It-Girl" celebrities at the moment. Their social media team does an amazing job of following pop culture and using celebrities that are generating a lot of buzz and popularity at the moment. Not only do they get these celebrities to model for their brand, Skims will create a limited edition line in collaboration with that celebrity that fans can shop for. I really like this idea because it can showcase different pieces that match that celebrities aesthetic and style. Below are some of my favorite collaborations.

Lana Del Rey for Skims

Charlie XCX for Skims

Sabrina Carpenter for Skims

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GQ Men of the Year Cover

Due to the success of her business, Kim Kardashian was controversially named, "The Man of the Year" by GQ, which showcased her on the front cover dressed as a business tycoon. Many critics argued about this position for numerous reasons, however, as someone who isn't a huge fan of the Kardashians or Jenners, I can't deny that Kim was able to turn her business into something massively successful.

During her interview with GQ, Kim talks about her success in the business industry and how she draws a lot of inspiration from her father. Her cofounder Jens Grede states that Kim is like the Michael Jordan of this generation. Telling GQ, "Many 19-year-olds who never watched Jordan play and don’t play basketball themselves wear Air Jordan sneakers every day. Maybe you don’t watch The Kardashians every single week, but you’re a Skims customer.”

I feel like this quote really sums up the success of the brand. With a lot of celebrity brands, many people only purchase it because they're fans of that person. However, a lot of people love Skims (including me) who aren't fans of the show or necessarily of Kim Kardashian. This is when you know that Kim has succeeded with her business and I'm excited to see the future collaborations and campaigns 2025 has in store for us.

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Thank you my lovely readers who read this weeks article. I hope you enjoyed!

Till Monday, bye my fashion and beauty baddies. <3

☆Rain☆