SKIMS
By: Kate Wroblewski
Kim Kardashian, over the past couple years, has been the face of her own shape-wear line. This is a very on brand company for Kim to start, as her body is one of the things she markets the most. In August of 2019, she announced to the public that her brands name would be “Kimono”. This brand had a great message and was meant to be an inclusive shape-wear brand for all different skin tones and body types. The good in this company was instantly overlooked by the poor name choice.
Thousands of people went straight to social media to express their offense at the name Kim chose. Kimono is the name of the traditional Japanese robe and Kim was accused of participating in cultural appropriation. Using the hashtag #KimOhNo, objectors posted pictures of themselves in authentic kimonos, juxtaposing the images against those of West modeling her shape-wear line. She even received a personal letter from the mayor of Kyoto, Japan, Daisaku Kadokawa, which Kardashian West realize that the situation had to be taken “really seriously.” She said: “He was very thoughtful and very kindly explaining to me the meaning of kimono and why that’s so important to their culture. Reading that letter, I felt an understanding. I definitely did not want to disrespect a culture.”
Kim stated that her intention was never to offend anyone, and that she never thought the name would be a problem. She was even more disappointed in herself and her team because “that’s not what the brand is even about — it’s about inclusivity, it’s about comfort, it’s not about making people uncomfortable”.
After brainstorming new ideas, they finally came up with the name “SKIMS”. The company really struggled with repurposing the already made inventory. There were thousands of products already labelled with the previous brand name. They decided they would just repurpose the inventory, otherwise the company would lose around 10 million dollars. Even after changing labels, some customers still found the Kimono brand name, under the label put on top, if they peeled it off. People went straight to social media to post their pictures of the old brand label when they got their SKIMS.
Kim and her PR team did the best they could to send customers new free products that did not contain the old logo and fix any damage they did. For how awful this company started out, I think they did a great job rebranding themselves. Their amazing message was overlooked, initially, through the branding scandal. Kim Kardashian, being the businesswoman she is, really fought to bring this company to its full potential in the past year. This brand carries sizes XXS-5XL and really has something to fit everyone. It is also pretty well priced for a higher-end shape-wear brand. Kim even uses her own social media, followed by millions, to promote this brand. Kim and her PR team, love or hate the Kardashians, really did a great job at turning this bad start, into now a billion dollar company.
