On the Friday night of London Fashion Week, fans congregated outside the new Skims store on Regent Street, as co-founders Kim Kardashian and Jens Grede celebrated the opening of the London flagship with a star-studded party, attended by Troye Sivan, Kim Petras, Tems, and Central Cee. It’s Skims’s first European flagship, and marks a significant milestone as the label continues to invest in major retail expansion beyond the US.
“You can only describe texture and fabrics in so many ways through what you post on socials, and I can do so many educational tutorials explaining all of that. But it’s a really different feeling for people to be able to come here, try on the product, stretch it, feel it, see what fits for [them],” says Kardashian, speaking to Vogue Business at the store. “Even [down to] design of our store and how we merchandise everything, it’s really important to be able to immerse yourself in our Skims world.”
Kardashian herself often takes to Instagram to demonstrate the fit or feel of the garments, ranging from the tongue-in-cheek but commercially successful nipple bra, to the latest NikeSkims drop. But it’s the stores that really move the needle. “You can get a customer for sure with a fun campaign or fun PR packages, but you get a returning customer when they receive the product, and they understand how good it is and how different it is from everything that’s out there,” Kardashian says. “I feel so proud [because] I feel like we have really done such a great job at that.”
It’s Kardashian’s first time visiting the London store, following its soft opening in July. After a day of shows at London Fashion Week, where size inclusivity is lacking, you really notice the mannequins in the Skims store, which are predominantly curvy or of mid-size proportions. “I was whisked right up here, and I haven’t had a chance to have a tour of the store yet,” she says. “But I love seeing our sculptures; each store has a unique sculpture. They’re one of one, so I want to see up close how grand it is to scale. There’s nothing that I love more in our stores than seeing all of our bodices with the bras on and all of the different skin tones, and all of our different shaped mannequins — that’s what’s cool to me.”
In terms of future innovations, Kardashian is excited about a new bra coming out “with very specific padding”. “I love that we continue with our bra and shapewear innovation, we’re always trying different materials,” she says. “All of the core pieces are really important to me.”
After London, the duo have plenty of travel planned through the rest of the year. Grede is off to Shanghai and Tokyo next week to open two NikeSkims stores. Meanwhile, Kardashian is excited for new Skims store openings in Delhi and Mumbai, planned for early next year. “We’re taking it all over the world,” she says with a smile, “and it’s going to be so much fun.”
