Skims is no longer a celebrity side project. After a $225 million funding round led by Goldman Sachs Alternatives, the shapewear label founded by Kim Kardashian and Jens and Emma Grede is valued at $5 billion — more than the combined market capitalizations of Victoria's Secret and Under Armour.
From shapewear to a category leader
Launched in 2019 after a rebrand from the culturally contested "Kimono Intimates," Skims built its positioning on inclusive sizing and a product range centred on shapewear, underwear and minimalist basics. It is now on track to exceed $1 billion in net sales. The brand's inclusive-size foundation — extended across every new category — is what separates Skims from celebrity labels that launched narrow and stalled. The latest round, one of the largest for a U.S. consumer brand this year, is earmarked for expanding intimates and shapewear lines, moving deeper into apparel and activewear, and accelerating retail and international growth.
The retail land grab
Skims operates about 18 stores in the U.S. and two franchise locations in Mexico, with four stores there after recent openings in Los Cabos, Artz Pedregal, Antara and Andares. It opened its first store in Dubai and has said a larger physical footprint will be a priority for the coming years. The shift from pure DTC to stores mirrors a broader realization that physical space builds brand heat in a way feeds cannot.
The Nike partnership and category creep
Skims has also partnered with Nike to launch women's activewear, pushing directly into a market long dominated by Lululemon and Alo Yoga. Combined with loungewear and apparel extensions, the brand is betting that its community — amplified by Kardashian's audience and a roster of celebrity endorsers — will follow it across categories. Kardashian's net worth has risen to $1.9 billion, up $200 million on the deal.
The risk behind the valuation
Not everything is smooth. Skims has faced repeated scrutiny over body-image messaging and product choices, and its value is tied closely to its founder's fame — a strength that cuts both ways if cultural sentiment shifts. The intimates and athleisure markets are also crowded and promotional, and Skims operates in a field where incumbent Victoria's Secret is fighting its own turnaround and tech-led intimates start-ups are multiplying. The $5 billion figure prices in a lot of future execution; the next test is whether apparel and activewear can match the margin and loyalty of the core shapewear line.
For independent labels, Skims is a case study in category expansion done on a strong core. The danger is diluting that core before the next pillar is proven. The brands that last are the ones that extend from genuine strength, not from founder momentum alone. Our loungewear and tops edits favour the same "soft, considered, rewearable" logic.
The celebrity-founder equation
Skims sits at the centre of a broader wave of founder-led consumer brands — Rihanna's Fenty Beauty, Hailey Bieber's Rhode, Khloé Kardashian's Good American — where a built-in audience compresses the cost of customer acquisition. The model works when the product earns repeat purchase, as shapewear does; it wobbles when the fame outruns the fit. Skims has so far kept the product credible through inclusive sizing and a widening range, and the $5 billion valuation implies investors believe the brand will outlast its founder's peak cultural moment. That is the open question: can a celebrity engine become a durable house, or does the multiple depend on relevance that fades? Victoria's Secret, now worth less than half of Skims, is the cautionary mirror — a brand that lost its cultural footing and is still clawing back.
The expansion itself carries execution risk. Moving from shapewear into apparel, activewear and freestanding retail requires different operational muscles — fit grading across new categories, inventory financing for stores, and the margin discipline that intimates provide but apparel often does not. The Nike partnership is a statement of ambition more than a guarantee of share; Lululemon and Alo Yoga defend their turf aggressively. For now Skims has the capital and the attention to try, but the next two years will reveal whether the $5 billion was a price or a prophecy, and whether a founder-led brand can become a category institution. The de minimis exemption's end also raises Skims' cross-border fulfillment costs, a quiet tax on the very DTC model that built it.
Frequently asked questions
What is Skims valued at in 2026?
After a $225 million funding round led by Goldman Sachs Alternatives, Skims is valued at $5 billion, more than Victoria's Secret and Under Armour combined.
How big is Skims' retail footprint?
Skims operates about 18 U.S. stores plus franchise locations in Mexico, and opened its first store in Dubai as it prioritizes a larger physical footprint.
What is the Skims and Nike partnership?
Skims partnered with Nike to launch women's activewear, extending from shapewear and loungewear into the athleisure market long led by Lululemon and Alo Yoga.
Is Skims profitable or just highly valued?
Skims is on track to exceed $1 billion in net sales, but its $5 billion valuation rests heavily on founder-led brand momentum and category expansion rather than disclosed profits.
Editor's note: This analysis was researched and drafted with AI assistance and reviewed by the PHEFEE editorial desk. Market data is cited from the sources listed below.Sources
Skims $5B valuation coverage, fashionnetwork.com. Quanta Report funding round, quanta.report. Brit Brief retail coverage, britbrief.co.uk.
