Kim Kardashian's lingerie brand SKIMS can "save lives" videos have flooded the Internet. No kidding, it's true.
A WOMAN IN THE UNITED STATES TOLD THE STORY OF HER LIFE SAVED BY SKIMS UNDERWEAR - AFTER SHE WAS UNFORTUNATELY SHOT, BECAUSE THE UNDERWEAR SHE WAS WEARING WAS TOO TIGHT TO HAVE A TOURNIQUET-LIKE EFFECT, SHE AVOIDED EXCESSIVE BLOOD LOSS WHILE WAITING FOR RESCUE, ADDING THAT THE SHAPESUIT WAS LIKE "WOMEN'S ARMOR", "I RECOMMEND IT TO YOU." I will definitely buy some more to wear. I mean, I should wear it every day. This then led to the "tap water" craze for SKIMS underwear.
If you ask a fashion blogger what to wear right now, they should say: SKIMS. The young brand, founded in September 2019, has risen to prominence in more than three years of market downturn, achieving sales of $400 million in 2022 and is expected to reach $750 million this year. Even at the Tokyo Olympics and Beijing Winter Olympics, SKIMS was selected as the designated lingerie brand for the US national team.
At the end of July, Kardashian had just secured a new financing round for the brand, valuing it at $4 billion — adding about $500 million to her fortune. From Internet celebrity items to "Top 100 Global Brands", the lingerie empire Kardashian is building is definitely not simple.
The reason for the birth of the original SKIMS brand was that Kardashian herself struggled to find the most suitable design and cut after trying a lot of styling clothes, so she made it herself, and was keenly aware that this was a blue ocean of the market. Therefore, from fabric selection, cutting, splicing, dyeing and other links, Kardashian personally operates, designs and produces her favorite shaping clothes.
So, in 2019, a shapewear brand called "Kimono Intimates" was born. That's right, this is the predecessor of SKIMS. But because "Kimono" means Japanese kimono, it attracted protests from Japanese consumers and the mayor of Kyoto, Japan's ancient capital, so it changed its name.
There is no doubt that Kardashian herself is SKIMS' best spokesperson and golden sign, with her own traffic, and her social media followers have reached 360 million. SKIMS is attracting the attention of countless women, and the "SKIMS Evaluation" videos on domestic and foreign platforms are extremely rich, easily gaining 10,000 likes.
Of course, in addition to herself, excellent marketing methods also contribute. In 2021, the long-warmed "Fendi x Skims" co-branded capsule series officially released a complete LOOK and began to sell. For SKIMS, this joint name can be described as showing its face in the field of high luxury, and the added value of its brand is self-evident.
In fact, the essence of SKIMS' success is still in the concept. Its brand concept is "Solutions For Every Body", with neutral tones and a multi-size design with great body tolerance, completely eliminating discrimination against women's bodies from the beginning. Many core shapewear products are available in nine different shades of nude colors, from XXS to 4XL to meet the needs of consumers of different skin tones and figures.
In 2021, Kardashian announced its expansion into the Asian market, with China as its first stop, opening physical stores in Shanghai and Hong Kong. The following year, SKIMS jumped to the list of "100 Most Influential Companies of 2022" published by Time Magazine. By this year, the market is already saying, "She's a lingerie unicorn ready for an IPO." ”
IT CAN BE SAID THAT SKIMS COMPLETELY PULLED KARDASHIAN OUT OF THE WORLD OF REALITY TV STARS AND GAVE HER A NEW IDENTITY AURA.
In fact, it is not only the Kardashians who have entered the women's underwear market. Rihanna entered the lingerie market back in 2018, founding Savage x Fenty. Last year, the brand valuation reached $3 billion.
Interestingly, once upon a time buying lingerie and lingerie designers was not a respected profession, or sometimes even concealed. The author of "Underwear Awakening", Kamooi Yoshiko, as a famous underwear designer, was jokingly called "underwear seller" at that time, even after many years, it is still difficult to let go of the public's contempt for her in this autobiography she published.
In recent years, sexy lingerie, which was once all the rage, is no longer popular, and has even been completely beaten into the cold by some feminists and has become the target of criticism. We really start to pay attention to our bodies and learn to face "her" needs – comfortable, comfortable, and safe, rather than the traditional male gaze requirements for underwear.
It is no exaggeration to say that in the past history, women have even paid with their lives in order to succumb to a piece of underwear.
The world's first corset was born at the French court in the 16th century, and it looked like an instrument of torture, tightly squeezing and wrapping a woman's body. Such sins European women endured for centuries.
This kind of shaping clothing further developed, began to pursue a more perverted "hourglass" figure, waist circumference less than 40cm to be called a beauty. I believe many people remember the classic scene in "Gone with the Wind": the black maid is trying her best to help Hao Sijia frantically tighten the corset.
Wearing this "invisible" torture tool all year round, women often have difficulty breathing, low cardiopulmonary function, and even organ displacement, which can lead to pelvic deformation and difficult labor. For centuries, women were put under an inhuman yoke and grew into a "pleasant man" appearance.
At the beginning of the last century, New York celebrity Mary Phelps Jacob sewed two silk handkerchiefs together, and the first modern underwear was born. This light, comfortable, uninhibited feeling is so good. The wearing of this underwear has become a sign of confidence, professionalism and openness of the new style of women.
But just like menstruation, women's underwear is seen as a topic that cannot be discussed and displayed publicly, it is not part of society, it is only a part of women, or the most private and indescribable part. Thus, the rebels were born. In 1968, 400 women threw underwear, cosmetics, and hairspray into the trash to launch the famous "burning corset" campaign. What they really want to burn is not a piece of underwear, but the standard that has controlled women for centuries.
Nowadays, more and more women are willing to free their breasts from the cage, use breast patches, and even join the lingerie movement to say goodbye to bondage completely. Just like the freedom of menstruation once discussed, the freedom of underwear is also a matter of great significance for women.
These things and things directly related to female sexuality are no longer considered a stigma, and they prove that women are accepting that they are a fundamental part of being women. Just like the last scene of the movie "Barbie", Barbie has his own gynecologist.
There is nothing better in feminism than confronting femininity.
Image source: cfp, douban, INS
Written by: Yoshiki