Is Kim Kardashian smarter than her ex-husband?

Kim Kardashian (centre) in Skims, with (from left) Candice Swanepoel, Tyra Banks, Heidi Klum, and Alessandra Ambrosio. Photo: kimkardashian/Instagram

Kim Kardashian has struck the proverbial gold with her shapewear/lingerie line Skims. The New York Times reported that the brand founded just four years ago is in a round of funding that values the company at US$4 billion. It has raised $270 million. That is a lot money for a fashion brand that relies on very little fabric. “It has grown quickly, and we’re so proud of that,” Ms Kardashian told the paper. “We’ve had a really good flow of product launches.” Skims began as a shapewear brand but has expanded considerably. It now offers loungewear and swimwear too, including one high profile collaboration with Fendi. One of the label’s appeal is that the founder actually wears her products, frequently appearing in Skims to promote SKKN, her skincare line.

The success of Skims is astonishing, considering that it did not really enjoy a brilliant, uncontroversial start, at least in the initial naming of the brand. For reasons not clear, Ms Kardashian wanted to call her debut line ‘Kimono’, which understandably upset many Japanese. She took the backlash seriously, and the much better Skims quickly replaced the first. The speedy success that followed could be due to its very savvy web/social media reach. According to news reports, online customers from outside the United States constitute 15 percent, while millennials or Gen Z-ers form nearly 70 percent. The brand tagline “Fits Everybody” is what the inclusive market appreciates and adores.

Although Ms Kardashian came into what is now considered her “fashion business” relatively late, compared to her ex-husband Kanye West (and also Rihanna), she has built a brand far more successful and likely to go further than what the Yeezy founder has achieved or will attain. At least ten brands/organisations have distanced themselves from the problems-sticken rapper-turned-designer, while Ms Kardashian is winning the admiration of many that brought about other businesses, from Kimoji to SKKN. Whatever is said about her and how, after her divorce, she is back to dressing to show off her well-endowed body, Kim Kardashian is a cultural phenomenon, good or bad, that could be bigger than anything Kanye West—not rapping—has done, combined.