Once you've made "Everyone wears SKIMS" your tagline there's a reputation of ubiquity to uphold, and the latest celebrity to do the honours for Kim Kardashian is pop icon Lana Del Rey.
In compositions that look straight out of a Del Rey music video, she stars as the face and body of the shapewear brand's latest Valentine's collection. They were shot by Brit photographer Nadia Lee Cohen, who is the same name behind Kim Kardashian's self-featuring viral '60s apres ski campaign.
Del Rey also nods to the '60s in retro-look underwear from the collection. In one campaign shot the GRAMMY winner stares into camera from the inside of a giant crushed velvet jewellery box in a matching baby blue set, all doe eyes and flaxen, bow-adorned hair. In another she kneels in a black slip worn with knee-high boots and veil, a cupid's arrow through her heart. And in a third, she sits in a fluffy red blanket wearing the cult Fits Everybody body, with a pair of white cats cosying up with her. It's kitsch to the max and the images have viral written all over them.
In the spirit of including something for everyone, the 29 collection line also includes a bra and thong set made to look like strings of sweets, and cotton knickers stitched with pithy lines such as 'out of sight, out of mind'. Gift at your own risk.
There's even a dog jumper. Presumably for single pet-owners who still want to partake in commercial holidays — or perhaps for those whose partners are in the proverbial dog house.
“I’ve been a big fan of SKIMS since the beginning, so being featured in their Valentine’s campaign is so exciting,” says Del Rey. “Their collection is so pretty and dreamy, which made collaborating with Nadia Lee Cohen on the creative so fun. I hope you love it as much as I do.”
The campaign lands as Del Rey has just been announced as a headliner for influencer-beloved festival Coachella, and with her Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd album from 2023 having received five GRAMMY nominations for the upcoming ceremony. She is more culturally relevant than ever.
Of course, Kardashian's brand didn't reach the meteoric heights of a $4 billion valuation last year (a figure almost unheard of for a celebrity fashion venture) without perfecting the balance between technically impressive products and savvy collaborations, sold via well-timed campaigns.
Since its launch in 2019 by Kardashian and chief executive Jens Grede, SKIMS has become known as an innovator in the underwear sector, encompassing loungewear and lingerie as well as shapewear. It also has a sportwear line for men, as of October, and is the official underwear partner of the NBA.
Capturing a cultural moment with the power to break the internet is something it has excelled at with plenty of its previous campaign stars, such as of-the-moment actors from White Lotus; Beatrice Grannò and Simona Tabasco. They led to last year's Valentine's range selling out at speed, meaning SKIMS has expanded the offering this year.
The brand seamlessly pivots from unapologetically provocative, to family-friendly, to playfully retro, to divisive and tongue-in-cheek (who could forget the nipple bra ads promising to keep you looking cold through the climate crisis) within a single feed post.
Just last winter campaigns included said nipple bra images, sat side-by-side on Instagram with a high-end, backstage-look shoot of Kim's new 'wearable jewellery' line with Swarovski, followed by wholesome a festive campaign starring American footballer Patrick Mahomes, wife Brittany Mahomes (who had just garnered attention as Taylor Swift's new BFF) and their angelic kids.
In the very same month Cardi B went viral in the Cotton Collections line with yet another totally different aesthetic which matched the rapper's desire to "feel snatched yet comfortable while hanging out at home" in her SKIMS. Way to prove you have range without losing your audience.
In aid of its message that the brand is for every body, it's also released highly successful ensemble campaigns spanning generations. Most recently, Hari Nef, Kim Cattrall, Coco Jones, and Nelly Furtado were shot for a video directed by Vanessa Beecroft. In 2022 there was the Icons campaign starring supermodels Tyra Banks, Heidi Klum, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Candice Swanepoel, as well as Kim herself as a last minute addition ("It was too iconic" not to, she said).
Last April, a who's-who of pop music saw Ice Spice and PinkPantheress star with Nessa Barrett and Raye in SKIMS' shapewear ads. Even Snoop Dogg and his whole family have fronted a SKIMS' ad in the Cozy Collection.
While it keeps stretching to new product lines, SKIMS is definitely not losing a grip on creating celebrity moments to bolster Kardashian's own influence.
