In her new role as a “brand ambassador” of Balenciaga, the one and only Kim Kardashian is seen as an emerging force in the fashion industry.
From her start with the family reality show “Keeping Up With The Kardashians,” the public found her style to be different from what other celebrities opted for in the early 2000s. As Kardashian connected with former husband and artist Kanye West, he elevated her status with multiple involvements in the “Yeezy” brand, increased appearances at the Met Gala and luxury fashion shows — which she was not invited to until her network developed.
She still shows much gratitude to West for her new footing in the prestigious world of clothing, as she’s taken fashion inspiration from him into her own endeavors. She even started her shapewear brand SKIMS, which provides women with a landslide of sizing options, tones and styles for their body type and preferences.
Celebrated for her genius marketing, the entrepreneur cannot be outdone. Targeting a diverse audience through a range of collections — men’s, Valentine’s Day, maternity, sleepwear, casual and more — influencers are her main source of sales.
Campaigns in the past included SZA, Patrick and Brittany Mahomes, Nick Bosa, Shai Gilgeous, Neymar Jr., Swarovski, Tyra Banks, Alessandra Ambrosio, Heidi Klum, Candice Swanepoel and, most recently, Lana Del Ray.
If that list of highly successful names does not set off a lightbulb, I am not sure how else to convince you that Kardashian is the captain of retail — soon maybe social media marketing as well.
Diving into her personal closet is a necessity to understand why SKIMS came to be.
As a curvy woman, she spotted the gap in women’s wear. At this time, a larger body image was not respected the way it is today. She used to have to cut and sew her own shapewear for it to fit right, but she always wished it would fit perfectly. This personal trouble of hers translated into a multimillion dollar business.
She now uses her line for the most-anticipated events of the year.
“I’ve saved everything,” Kardashian prefaces in her exclusive capsule wardrobe tour.
My favorites include her Givenchy Floral Met Gala look during her pregnancy with her first-born, an Alber Elbaz dress for the cover of Vogue and a gold-plated, draped dress for a Balmain show.
There are many more where that came from, like her Oscar’s looks, her wedding dress and even her very first fragrance bottle from 2009.
“I kept it all for my daughter,” she explains in an episode in the renovated “Keeping Up With The Kardashians.”