There aren’t many people on this planet that have quite the same level of fame as Kim Kardashian, with her inescapable billion-dollar, multimedia empire.
A symptom of her pop culture domination is that you’ll almost certainly know of her 'shapewear' brand Skims – even if you’re not clued up on its product offering.
Since it launched in 2019, Skims has given women the option of feeling their best nipped and tucked selves, with underwear that highlights curves and hides any unwanted bumps.
The brand has since expanded into clothes, swimwear and kid’s items, and earlier this year, it was valued at $4 billion after accruing $270 million in fundraising.
Naturally, then, it makes sense that Kim (along with co-founder Emma Grede) has decided that the next step for the business is to launch a men's underwear line, a market that is estimated to grow by 2.98% year-on-year.
News dropped on Tuesday with a campaign featuring ripped athletes, like Neymar Jr., US footballer Nick Bosa and American basketball player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, all wearing a mix of Cotton, Sport and Stretch collections.
Much like the underwear advertisements of yore – think: vintage Beckham modelling for Emporio Armani and a young Mark Wahlberg grabbing his Calvins (as well as another c-word) – not much was left to the imagination.
In fact, hardly any focus was put on the products at all, with some images cropped to not show the boxers (or shorts) full length, and the T-shirts pulled a little higher to expose washboard abs.
These type of tactics are hardly surprising. Imagery of good looking, nearly-naked men will appeal to people who find them attractive, while others may tap into the aspirational element that comes with these type of campaigns.
On X, formerly Twitter, the campaign has done the job of turning heads, albeit, with a largely female audience, who make up the majority of Kim's fandom.
“Miss Kimberley Noel Kardashian knew what she was doing with the skims men campaign *drooling emoji*” said one user, much in agreement with many other women.
But what stood out was the clear assumption of who would be buying the products, rather than who will be wearing them. “All the girls are buying these for their boyfriends for Christmas. I just know it”, said @theboredanalyst, while @ezzzzieeee said “act right and we getting you that men skims baby”.
If one thing is true about Kim Kardashian, is that she knows how to make money. A lot of it, in fact: a Forbes article noted that this year's Skims funding will add another $500 million to her personal fortune, currently estimated at $1.7bn.
Skims has done so by finding the balance of tapping into the Kardashian fame while also offering a not-bad product.
While fans of the Kardashians' reality show will naturally be interested in any of the family’s business ventures, the last few years have seen Skims attract a new clientele, one that will happily slander the Kim-don but contemplate a Skims product after hearing just how good they are.
I, for one, am often asked by anti-Kardashian friends about whether Skims shapewear is worth the money, and while I don’t have any myself, I repeat the positive comments of reliable sources who do. (Despite the moral dilemma that comes with financing a person you dislike, it seems that the idea of having a body-ody is too compelling.)
This is all to say that there is no reason why men who aren't regularly Keeping Up With The Kardashians shouldn’t be interested in the product.
With time, they too will forget about who they’re economically endorsing, and that Skims started as a shapewear brand – if the product is up to scratch, which no doubt it is. It might even break the loyalty that many men have to a particular underwear brand.
SKIMS Mens Sport Leggings
SKIMS Mens Stretch T-Shirt 3-Pack
SKIMS Mens Tube Crew Sock 3-Pack
SKIMS Mens Stretch Brief 3-Pack
SKIMS Mens Sport Muscle Tank
SKIMS Mens Cotton Mens 5" Boxer Brief 3-Pack
It goes without saying that the show has a lot of male viewers and a thriving LGBTQ fanbase, who will naturally feel enticed to buy. But Kim's ambition is no doubt to conquer the underwear market and infiltrate audiences that usually avoid her output. Has she done that yet? Judging by the commentary on X, probably not.
For any fashion business, it doesn't matter who's buying it as long as people are; whether you wear it isn't their responsibility. And with Skims, I hardly doubt Kimmy K will be losing sleep if it gets pushed to the back of your underwear draw.
Still, if you have any Kim K stans in your family, don’t be surprised if a three-pack of boxers appear in your stocking this Christmas.
