Kim Kardashian’s Skims Brand Began In A Bathtub: ‘I Dyed Shapewear With Tea, Coffee’

Skims, the shapewear company from reality TV star Kim Kardashian, started in a bathtub.

“I used to take my shapewear and dye it with tea bags and coffee in the bathtub,” said Kardashian recently told Time.

Kardashian founded Skims in 2019 along with British fashion designer Emma Grede and Jens Grede. 

Jens currently serves as the CEO for the company.

The company was originally named Kimono before Kardashian decided to change the name to Skims.

That’s because Kardashian struggled to find undergarments that matched her skin tone, as most brands offered limited shades. She recounted the frantic moments before essential events, using home remedies to dye her clothing darker.

Embracing inclusivity as its core value, Skims — founded in 2019 — offers a wide range of products, including bras, underwear and dresses in 10 diverse skin tones and an extensive array of sizes. By 2022 it secured funding at a valuation of $3.2 billion, surpassing the $1.2 billion valuation of Spanx, a well-established brand in the industry.

Skims also has an adaptive line designed for individuals with limited mobility. Kardashian said this one is the most “her” of all the enterprises she has tried. “It’s just a part of me,” she said. “I take it personally. It started off of my body and my shapes, and it’s very vulnerable.”

Kardashian’s focus, she says, lies primarily on creative and marketing activities. She actively participates in and often stars in photo shoots, provides input on fabric and design approvals, and claims to try on more than 7,000 products.

“At the beginning, when I didn’t really understand where my career was going because I was just kind of winging it, I would do licensing deals with a lot of different companies that would contradict themselves, like a cupcake brand with a weight-loss pill at the same time,” she told the magazine.

Kardashian, who holds the largest stake in Skims, has invested some of her capital into the business, but regrets not allocating more resources to the company.

According to Forbes, Kardashian has a net worth of $1.2 billion — primarily due to Skims and the skincare line, SKKN, formerly KKW Beauty. 

Skims’s current valuation surpasses Kylie Cosmetics by $2 billion, following her sister Kylie Jenner’s sale of 51% of her cosmetics brand in 2020.

In the Skims marketing campaign, the company has featured other celebrities that includes Megan Fox, Paris Hilton, Heidi Klum, Tyra Banks, Snoop Dogg, Kate Moss, Chelsea Handler, and Chelsea Handler.

Skims partnered with Team USA in the Olympics in 2021 providing the American athletes with clothing that furthered the brand for the company.

Produced in association with Benzinga

Edited by Alberto Arellano and Joseph Hammond