“I love to work out—it’s my therapy,” Kim Kardashian tells Vogue over the phone this weekend. Longtime watchers of various Kardashian shows over the years will know that the second-eldest sister has always had a strong fitness game: On her current Hulu series, The Kardashians, you can often catch the star and business mogul squeezing in some intense new workout with her sisters, usually under the guidance of an A-list trainer. Given Kardashian’s well-documented obsession with health and wellness, it was only a matter of time before she evolved her Skims brand into the athletic space.
Today, Kardashian officially unveils NikeSkims, created in partnership with Nike dedicated entirely to athleticwear. The inaugural apparel collection—which launches for sale on September 26, on both the Nike and Skims websites—features body-sculpting pieces designed for performance, including sports bras, hoodies, and leggings. “To me, it just made sense,” says Kardashian of the launch. “Skims is very body-oriented—we do swimwear, loungewear, shapewear—so our next evolution was that we really wanted to do activewear. Our dream was to work with Nike: Their legacy, innovation, and athlete insights—it was the perfect thing to mix with Skims, and our dedication to the female form.”
Naturally, Kardashian wanted to bring a fresh point of view to Nike fabrications. Where the legacy athletic brand excels in moisture-wicking fabrics and stretchy comfort, Skims aimed to bring more sleek, design-forward touches to the mix. “We know what they do well, and they know what we do well,” says Kardashian. “We wanted to bring our DNA into activewear. Our style lines are really clean and simplistic, and very true to the Skims style, with some square necks and thinner straps.”
The new range is a result of that marriage: NikeSkims spans seven different collections and includes 58 different silhouettes, offering more than 10,000 ways to mix-and-match a diverse offering of pieces. All of the items—designed in Skims’s signature neutral hues, of course—are meant to bridge the gap between workoutwear and everydaywear, offering pieces that perform in the gym but can be styled off-duty, too. Sizes range from XXS to 4X, and prices range from $38 to $148. “I really wanted to make sure there was something for everyone,” says Kardashian. “Both Skims and Nike have really inclusive sizing, so we wanted to make sure that we would have a broad size ranging, and that everyone can feel good in what they’re wearing.”
The seven different collections offer something for every customer. The Matte collection includes 21 matte-finish styles that feature mid-level compression; The Shine collection includes 11 stretchy styles with a subtle sheen finish; The Airy collection features breathable, mesh-inspired knit pieces. Other collections include the Vintage Seamless collection (featuring more worn-in, vintage-inspired pieces), and the Matte Tricot collection (featuring minimal track-inspired pieces). For Kardashian, it was important to create pieces that can fit into a busy lifestyle. “You can wear some of the pieces out at night and look really great, or there’s super casual pieces strictly for working out,” she says. “I wanted people to feel like there was something for everyone.”
The top athletes that NikeSkims tapped for their debut campaign, meanwhile, also reflected this diverse range of needs and styles. The first campaign video, titled Bodies at Work, was directed by Janicza Bravo, and features more than 50 athletes from across Nike’s portfolio—including Serena Williams, Chloe Kim, Sha’Carri Richardson, Jordan Chiles, Madisen Skinner, and more, all of whom sport a variety of pieces, from the zip-up hoodies to the stretchy shorts. “I love the quality, and how it moves with me and supports me in all the right areas,” says American gymnast Jordan Chiles of the pieces. “I feel sleek, comfortable, and completely myself.” Snowboarding pro Chloe King adds, “You can definitely tell NikeSkims is made for women—I think that’s the biggest thing.”
With the official launch date coming up this Friday, consumers and Kardashian fans will soon have the opportunity to dress like a star athlete, too. Until then, Kardashian delves further into the inspiration for the brand below—and dishes on her go-to exercise, workout playlist, and what she herself wears to the gym.
Vogue: I would love to hear what excited you about entering the athletic space.
Kim Kardashian: We’ve really wanted to get into Skims sport [for a while]—it was a really important next step for me. I work out every single day, and everyone I know works out multiple times a week. It was really enticing and motivating to know that Nike has different innovations and technologies than we have. Anytime I want to partner with someone, no matter what the product is, it has to be inspiring to me—and I have to feel like other women will be motivated to work out, and want to wear this. We just wanted to make clothes that make you feel really good about yourself.
You could have done a one-time Nike x Skims collab and be done with it, so why was it important for you to create a new brand that will continue on?
We wanted to form a whole new brand together to make sure that it was a lasting relationship, and that we both had equal shares in the innovation and development of the product. When you do a collab, it’s so much fun, but I really wanted this to be a forever thing. Something that we can grow and evolve together. With all of the distribution that Nike has all over the world, I also want people to feel the NikeSkims brand all over the world. And I don’t think we could have accomplished that in one collection.
You mentioned you work out every day, so what details were important for you to have in the collection?
I always have these little cellulite tests that I do in my fittings—certain requirements that I have in my head, like how a fabric has to have a certain amount of thickness, to really hold and snatch everything in place. I also didn’t want anything that’s annoying or frustrating to put on. Sometimes, shapewear can be really restricting, but we’ve done a really good job at making sure it’s still really comfortable; I wanted our activewear to feel that way, too. Chloe [Kim] was trying it on last night, and she called me and was like, “Oh my God, I can’t believe that I don’t have to tailor anything!” I was like, “Yeah babe, that’s Skims for you.”
What do you personally like to wear to work out? Are there any pieces from the line you’ve been testing out?
I always want pieces that I feel really comfortable in and look really good in at the gym, so that it will motivate me to want to go more. Before, I used to really stick to a legging and a sports bra—I’m a creature of habit. I absolutely love all of our leggings and sports bras. I typically never wear a top over [a bra], but now I love layering our tops, like our thin little turtleneck top. I love the fabric. I’ve never worn a long-sleeved top to work out in before, but now I’ll put a sports bra under it, and maybe even a hoodie over it. Or I will wear the leggings with baggy shorts over it. There’s over 10,000 ways to mix all of these pieces. Someone once told me that, if you have all the right pieces in your closet, you don’t really need a stylist to put it together for you—they’ll just always work. If you have curated collection in your closet, not too many pieces, then nothing can be misconstrued—you’re always going to look good. I feel like that’s what this collection is.
You were among those who set the trend of wearing athleisure as fashion, like when you reignited the bike shorts trend. So was that something you were thinking about when ideating these pieces?
I definitely wanted pieces that I can wear to meetings. Sometimes, I don’t have time to really change in between my day. I’ll wake up, put on a workout outfit, take my kids to school, come back, work out, and then go right into a meeting. And I’ll want to look cute and decent doing it. I want to be able to do it all—and with these pieces, you can.
What’s some of your current workout obsessions? What’s the routine looking like?
I’m a big weightlifter, so I do lots of weights. I’ve had some back issues, so I’ve had to readjust just some of my workouts, but I have to do lower body in order to stay toned. I do a few days of upper body. I usually pick a body part, and we stick to that for the day. I do an hour and a half a day, with weights and stretching, and a little bit of cardio. I love pilates, so I will incorporate that, and I love wearing our pilates leggings. I find when I don’t incorporate pilates at least once a week, I can feel it in my back. I definitely need that lengthening and stretching.
Are you a morning workout person, or evening?
In the morning. I just can turn on the music, and get it done. I am the kind of annoying workout person where I check my phone throughout the workout, though, and respond to people. I’m sure that really frustrates my trainer.
What’s on your workout playlist these days?
Sometimes, I just put on Justin Bieber Radio. It’s full of hits!
Has there been any workouts that you’ve tried where you were just like, this isn’t for me?
Any dancing workout. Honestly, I know I should get into hot yoga, but I did it once and I fell asleep. Just with the mood, and you lay down and close your eyes. I can fall asleep anywhere, so put me in the position to fall asleep, and I will.
There are so many amazing Olympians in your campaign, and I was wondering if there was a sport you could ever see yourself being good at, if you really trained at it?
I’m a pretty good soccer player. I know people wouldn’t know that, but I played soccer my whole life. I wouldn’t say I would be good enough to be an Olympic soccer player, but I dabbled in that when I was a kid. I remember doing a report on the Olympics in the fourth grade, about the decathlon with my stepdad, and they asked if you would be doing one of these, what would it be? I guess maybe one of the running sports. I’m a better runner than people would assume. Actually, I take it back: I would compete in the winter Olympics, for skiing. Skiing is my thing.
What was the most inspiring or surprising thing to learn from some of the athletes that you worked with on the campaign?
I just love seeing them in action. Everyone did a different workout for the campaign, so obviously everyone chose a workout that they can do well, and look good in. I loved seeing what everyone’s choices were, and what they were good at, because it definitely showed off their strengths. I love women that know what they want, and everyone was just so definite.
Do you have any dream athletes to dress in your pieces in the future?
I think everyone’s an athlete. Being a mom, no matter what you do, is a sport. I would love to see all the WNBA girls in our stuff, too—I’m such a big WNBA fan. They would look beautiful in it. We need to do a whole team.
Last question, and entirely unrelated: But we have to ask you about your new Ryan Murphy series, All’s Fair, premiering in November. What can you tell us about it?
I cannot wait for everyone to see it. I loved it—it’s so crazy. [All of the cast is] in a group chat, and we were talking the other day about how it just works. You can’t explain it: It seems like all of our personalities would be so different, but we just really worked together on-screen, and I think that people will be pleasantly surprised with all of our dynamics. I also love the fashion. It’s a very high-fashion oriented show. We have some nineties JPG moments that we got from the archive that are just so amazing. I’m so excited to have worked with so many amazing people.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
