What do you get when you combine the world’s largest sportswear brand with a Kardashian-fronted intimates and shapewear company? A workout collection that carries sculpting leggings, push-up sports bras, butt-lifting capri tights and spandex catsuits, available in a mix-and-match palette of muted taupe, moody purple, chocolate brown and black.
NikeSkims launches this week after it was announced earlier this year. The pieces come in a selection of seven materials (three core and four seasonal), from a compression spandex to a vintage sweatshirt-inspired fabric and a lightweight mesh that’s slightly see-through when stretched over the body.
It’s workout gear made with both Nike’s performance experience and the body-moulding expertise that Skims — the lingerie and lounge brand co-founded by Kim Kardashian in 2016 — is known for. Standard tanks, leggings and snap-button sweats feel at home alongside Nike’s current collections. Other pieces have a uniquely Skims spin: footy leggings dotted on the bottom with Pilates grippers, eliminating the need for separate socks; an oversized T-shirt that looks like a football jersey sans team name; leggings with seams that slope in a U-shape to cup the bottom.
New brand NikeSkims is a major lever in Nike’s turnaround push. Can it work?
NikeSkims is not a collaboration but an entirely new brand. What does that mean in practice? Employees from design, production, marketing and distribution came together to develop the collection, with conversations starting two years ago after Skims approached Nike. In terms of ownership, the companies declined to disclose terms of the deal, but a representative for Nike called it a “true partnership”.
“It was just so tantalising, the idea that we would bring our aesthetic and what Skims means in terms of attitude, fit and cut, and pair that with Nike’s high-performance R&D and supply chain,” says Jens Grede, CEO and co-founder of Skims. “It felt like there was magic there.”
There will be multiple product drops per year (already, the brand teased not-yet-available accessories at the collection preview), and it will be sold on the Nike and Skims websites, as well as in both brands’ stores. The price point starts at $38 for a standard sports bra and goes up to $148 for the catsuit, and sizes range from XXS to 4XL.
“There are a lot of players in the activewear space,” says Nike president Amy Montagne, who has spent 20 years with the company and previously served as its VP/GM of global womenswear before assuming her new role in May. “So you see the history of the Skims brand, now engineered to perform, because everything we do at Nike starts from our athletes. When those two things come together, we believe we create something bold, innovative and new to redefine the market.”
The market for athletic wear has changed drastically in recent years, with brands like Alo, Lululemon, Beyond Yoga and Vuori building significant businesses off the back of the boom of boutique fitness. At the same time, workout wear trends have started to shift, with Gen Z opting for looser fits and leaning away from leggings. NikeSkims — specialising in form-fitting gear — is addressing this change in taste by emphasising how layerable each piece is. The brand claims its 58 pieces can be combined into 10,000 outfits. Grede says the idea was for it to be a “total, head-to-toe look” and a “way of dressing with a clear aesthetic”.
“If you bring incredibly comfortable, high-performing, innovative products, you don’t have to worry about the competition,” says Grede. “I know my products will find a home with a customer to recognise what we’re doing.”
For Nike, Skims is a key partner to making inroads with women consumers — one of the brand’s top priorities — and Montagne thinks NikeSkims will be successful in recruiting new female customers to the brand. The new brand’s first campaign ad stars snowboarder Chloe Kim, tennis player Serena Williams, gymnast Jordan Chiles, track and field athlete Sha’Carri Richardson and Kardashian (in a brief appearance) as well as a group of college athletes, with the main premise of celebrating what women’s bodies are capable of. The campaign pulls on both brands’ marketing strengths: for Skims, to collect a pitch group of ambassadors who generate internet buzz and for Nike, driving home the power of the athlete.
It also lands at a time when women’s sports are going mainstream: women’s basketball had a record-breaking season for viewership, and the brand deals are racking up. Stars like Richardson and basketball player Caitlin Clark have risen in prominence. Also, fashion is getting deeper into sports, giving Nike more need to defend its turf. At the US Open, brands like Khaite, Ralph Lauren and 3.1 Phillip Lim were seen on the court alongside Nike.
Since taking up the role last year, Nike CEO Elliott Hill has laid out plans to recoup Nike sales by recommitting to its focus on sports. The company’s sales have fallen for six consecutive quarters; most recently, revenue was down 12 per cent in the fourth quarter reported in June. A new brand with Skims flair and Kardashian’s fanbase, made with Nike’s performance tech, could drive a sales boost. That the brand is a permanent fixture — Nike’s first sub-brand since Jordan — means it’s not fleeting.
For Skims, Nike legitimises its aspirations in the activewear space. Grede says that the brand had been hearing requests from customers to launch workout gear. “We did a lot of trials, and felt like we needed a partner.” Supply chains and material innovation for athletic wear are different from those for making tanks and underwear. Now, Skims will have access to Nike’s full breadth of resources — and customers. “It was appealing for us to partner with Nike because they have the biggest access to sports customers in the world. For us, it amplifies our brand and gives us access to a much wider audience,” says Grede.
With a bigger audience, plus a front woman like Kardashian, the scrutiny is higher. The launch date was pushed back several months earlier this year, which Grede attributes in part to the changing tariff policy in the US, which raised questions around how to price the products. (Grede says the brand wanted to ensure the price point stayed “democratic”.) But he says he doesn’t think of it as being delayed. “It’s innovation. It’s ready when it’s ready.”
Montagne says that both teams moved quickly over the last year of development, forming a sort of startup within the bigger Nike organisation. “Nike is the best at what we do. Skims is very entrepreneurial,” says Montagne. “This was new for both brands — we’re working together on the design, the manufacturing, the price point, the distribution.”
As the team gets ready to release the first drop this week, Grede is glad for it to finally be out in the world. “This has been a guarded secret for years,” he says. “For the first year and a half, I couldn’t even tell my mom. I’m excited to see the customers’ reaction to it.”
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