Comfort and compression: Skims brings innovation to men’s apparel

Last week, multi-franchise mogul Kim Kardashian announced the latest addition to Skims, her shapewear and apparel line, with the launch of a new product range dubbed Skims Men. 

At this point in time, Skims Men will consist of underwear, tees, leggings, and socks, although Kardashian, who is the co-founder and creative director of the brand, has hinted that the brand may be releasing men’s shapewear in the future. 

For now, Skims Mens will offer three collections dubbed:

• Cotton, a collection of essentials built from a soft, mid-weight cotton blend with built-in recovery for comfortable, everyday wear

• Stretch: a collection of foundations constructed from maximum-stretch fabric for the perfect fit, every time

• Sport: a collection of lightly compressive base layers engineered to sit seamlessly under workout clothes for maximum comfort and support

Skims gathered several high-profile male professional athletes to star as the faces of its latest launch, Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Nick Bosa, and Brazilian soccer legend Neymar.

In a press release, Kardashian stated, “The expansion into the menswear space is a major milestone for the brand and a testament to Skims’ commitment to providing solutions for everybody. To have an icon like Neymar Jr be the face of our launch campaign, along with NBA All-Star, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and NFL’s top Defensive Player Nick Bosa, I think speaks volumes to the way Skims has evolved into becoming a brand that can provide comfort for all audiences, not just for women. I am incredibly excited about this next chapter for Skims and cannot wait for everyone to experience our amazing range of products.”

The collections launched on October 26 with sizes ranging from XS to 5X, and pricing ranging from US$16-$54 for single pieces and US$42-$98 for package sets. 

Skims’ dive into the menswear market

On the expansion into the menswear category, Jens Grede, the CEO and co-founder of Skims explained that the brand’s decision “was reinforced by a growing number of men who have already embraced the brand’s existing product offerings, with men accounting for over 10 per cent of Skims’ existing customer base.”

In addition to male consumers who were familiar with the brand from purchasing Skims products for their female loved ones, and those who didn’t mind buying female-marketed items for themselves, there were the male consumers who were introduced to the brand via the Boyfriend Collection. 

This assortment was launched in 2020 and consisted of unisex apparel and underwear items designed with an oversized fit, which helped to whet the appetite of friends, family, and partners of Skims’ existing female audience base for male-marketed items. 

“Entering the US$111 billion US men’s apparel market unlocks an incredible opportunity for the business as we work to continue to reach new demographics and disrupt new categories for the next-generation of consumers,” Grede elaborated. 

In addition to the expansion of the menswear market, there is also a growing demand for innovation within the men’s underwear industry.

According to market insights firm Grand View Research the global men’s underwear market was valued at US$37.11 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 5.4 per cent between 2023 to 2023. Several factors are contributing to the growth of this industry including an increased interest from the male consumer in personal hygiene products and a wider selection of underwear fabrics, styles, and cuts. 

In research conducted by The Under Fashion Club, a non-profit organisation supporting the intimate apparel industry, it was revealed that while men’s apparel sales went down 12 per cent in 2020, men’s underwear profits grew by 2per cent during the same year. 

In 2020, Savage X Fenty and Nubian Skin, lingerie brands for consumers with melanin-rich skin tones, launched underwear specifically designed for men.

While established companies like Hugo Boss, Levi Strauss & Co, Ralph Lauren, and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (Fruit of the Loom) still remain top players within the global men’s underwear market, emerging brands like Skims are beginning to throw their hat in the ring.

Skims’ meteoric rise 

Skims was co-founded by Kardashian and Grede in 2019, and originally launched with a range female-marketed shapewear products before expanding into categories like loungewear, swimwear, children’s apparel, and, more recently, men’s underwear and apparel items.

In July, Skims reached a US$4 billion valuation after raising US$270 million in a Series C funding round. The brand announced it would use the capital for category expansion, product innovation, and expanding into bricks-and-mortar retail. 

In May of this year, Skims opened a pop-up shop in New York City’s Rockefeller Center, before launching its first European pop-up shop, in partnership with the British department store Selfridges, in June. The company has announced that it is planning to open a Los Angeles flagship in early 2024. 

As of 2023, Skims expects its net sales to reach US$750 million, a jump from US$500 million made the year prior. 

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