Kim Kardashian West has announced a fashion deal with US retailer Nordstrom to make her Skims range available in brick-and-mortar stores for the first time.
Items from the star’s “solutionwear” brand, which is currently only available via the label’s own website, will be stocked in 25 Nordstrom locations across America from February 5.
Launched in September, Skims specializes in figure-hugging shapewear and bodysuits, and has been praised for catering to a variety of sizes and skin tones. The range also includes underwear, loungewear and accessories.
Announcing the exclusive partnership in a video posted to both brands’ social media accounts, Kardashian West praised Nordstrom’s “inclusive size offering,” adding: “I know that is an important shared value that Skims has and I really wanted to launch with the full range of sizes and colors.
“It is such a natural choice for me to want to choose Nordstrom as my first retail partner for Skims,” she said.
Skims will only be stocked at a fraction of Nordstrom’s locations in North America, though it will also be made available through the retailer’s website. With an average customer age of 43, according to The Wall Street Journal, Nordstrom’s customer base may be seen as a way to widen the market for Kardashian West’s label.
The move from online to physical stores is also reminiscent of the strategy pursued by the star’s KKW Beauty range.
Launched in 2017, the makeup line and accompanying fragrance began with web-only sales before Kardashian West announced a deal with US chain Ulta Beauty last year.
Skims was initially launched under the name Kimono last June. But the choice of name proved controversial, attracting accusations of cultural appropriation and spawning the hashtag #KimOhNo.
The row prompted Kyoto’s mayor, Daisaku Kadokawa, to write an open letter to Kardashian West urging her to “reconsider” her choice of name, writing: “Kimono is a traditional ethnic dress fostered in our rich nature and history with our predecessors’ tireless endeavors and studies, and it is a culture that has been cherished and passed down with care.”
Japan also announced that it was dispatching patent officials to the US to discuss the matter.
In August, Kardashian West, who Forbes estimates is worth $370 million, announced that the name had changed to Skims Solutionwear.
Top image: Kim Kardashian West speaks onstage during the 2020 Winter TCA Tour at The Langham Huntington on January 18, 2020 in Pasadena, California.
