These women aren’t Victoria’s Secret Angels. They’re Kim’s Crew now.
You didn’t have to be Germaine Greer to find this glitterball of tastelessness deeply cringey. We went to a VS show in London – a no expenses spared affair with Ed Sheeran on guitar and a bunch of heavily perspiring males who’d paid big bucks to be there on the front row. It was a tack-fest of monumental clod-footedness. You’d have thought it was 1964 not 2014. But highly paid Victoria’s Secret models could always be called on to provide quotes about how “empowering” the whole experience was,which made anyone with qualms look uptight.
Loading
After #MeToo,perspectives on how brands presented (and spoke to) women shifted radically. Overnight,views that would have been dismissed as uptight became mainstream. In 2019 VS shows were finally laid to rest,creating a chasm for a new kind of underwear.
Enter KK,with her 298 million followers on Instagram (anyone would think Kardashian had form when it comes to cashing in on a zeitgeist). Skims was well poised to capitalise on the pandemic. As millions took to their sofas and their trackies,underwiring and discomfort were the last things on their mind. The brand was an instant hit and consistently has waiting lists of over 100,000 for its Fits Everybody range.
Any brand with a famous owner is guaranteed attention. But this was different. From its clever name,alluding to Kardashian’s first name,and the verb,Skims comes in nine skin tones and nine sizes,and some impressive,innovative fabrics,including its butter-soft Fits Everybody material,which according to fans,feels so comfortable it’s akin to not wearing anything. It also just so happens to have perfected the no-wire bra just as everyone was starting to jettison them. So even as we crawled out of hibernation,it had everything we needed to face the world. It has mastered the cut,the feel and the underlying message of its product. This is underwear for women,bought by women,to appeal to a female gaze,rather than the male gaze. It’s body-positive,size and skin-tone inclusive. It’s even age inclusive. It isn’t just midlifers and beyond who are mad for it. Gen Z-ers pinch their mothers’ Skims so they can wear it as outerwear.
Kim’s Crew are all about embracing their natural shape,and improving it via a series of aforementioned teeny briefs and bras that once on,miraculously stretch and expand,all while providing the smoothness and coverage we all crave,especially if we’re wearing unlined clothes,tight trousers,bias-cut skirts or dresses... We may be fascinated by corsets in all their weird historical incarnations (online searches for them have rocketed sinceBridgerton) but most of us don’t actually want to wear one. Nor do we any longer want underwear with ribbons and furbelows that make us feel like a prettily wrapped gift. In 2022,underwear is a high-performance,multitasker that puts women firmly in control of how they look and feel – as opposed to the old kind,which was about constriction,or being objectified,or spending too much time worrying that something was going to pop out or a strap was about to snap.
In 2022,underwear is a high-performance,multitasker that puts women firmly in control of how they look and feel – as opposed to the old kind,which was about constriction,or being objectified.
Sure Skims contours. But it doesn’t squeeze your excess into weird little parcels of resistance that disconcertingly pop up around the borders of your cycling shorts,as is the case with some of the more draconian shapewear out there. Mentioning no names,but I for one have felt physically ill halfway through one smart fashion dinner and had to remove my all-in-one boobs-to-mid-thigh sausage skin before pudding.
That piece of kit still sits in a drawer at home,glinting malevolently in its American tan glory,a ghastly warning of the consequences of wearing outer layers that are slightly below par in their construction or remotely clingy.
Basically,unless you habitually dress in a tent,at some point you’ll need some behind-the-scenes first aid. And this is what Skims is. It doesn’t just hold you in,it creates a silky membrane between one’s skin,with all its bobbles and idiosyncrasies,and anything you choose to drape over it. In Kardashian’s case,that includes track pants and leggings,because,let’s face it,VPL is no respecter of occasion,and with Skims,you don’t get VPL – or scratchiness,cheap-looking lace or cluelessly placed seams.
Such is its seduction that even shapewear refuseniks are reassessing their prejudices. This is quite something for a brand helmed by a woman as Marmite as Kardashian. Many have felt anguish over the fact that they’re buying a product from a woman they previously despised,but the genius of Kardashian is that as well as making us rethink underwear,she’s managed to make us reassess her. She’ll be running for president next – and not just of a global corporation.
The Telegraph,London
Make the most of your health,relationships,fitness and nutrition with our Live Well newsletter.Get it in your inbox every Monday.