The shapewear and apparel brand Skims co-founded by Kim Kardashian has raised $225 million in a new funding round, lifting the company’s valuation to approximately $5 billion. The round was led by Goldman Sachs’ alternative investments arm and included participation from BDT & MSD Partners.
Founded in 2019, Skims began with a focus on inclusive-sizing shapewear and has rapidly expanded into loungewear, ready-to-wear and activewear segments. With this fresh injection of capital, the company says it will invest in bolstering its physical retail footprint, extending into international markets, and broadening its product categories.
The company is projecting net sales of more than $1 billion for the year 2025, signaling that it has moved well beyond niche start-up status. Meanwhile it currently operates around 18 US-based brand stores and a small number of international retail outlets, and is positioning itself to become a predominantly offline retail business in the coming years.
Kardashian, serving as chief creative officer, described the milestone as a validation of the brand’s “incredible team and partners” and said the firm is ready to take Skims “to the next level”. Co-founder and CEO Jens Grede added that the new capital reflects confidence in their long-term vision and disciplined execution.
Analysts say the $5 billion valuation places Skims among the highest-valued celebrity-founded consumer brands in recent years. Some observers note that it now exceeds the combined market capitalizations of legacy competitors in the intimate-apparel and active-leisure space.
Beyond apparel and shapewear, Skims has also begun to deepen its involvement in beauty and fragrance through strategic brand moves, and recently announced a collaboration with Nike to launch an activewear line designed for women. The brand’s inclusive sizing, strong influencer-driven marketing and omnichannel expansion strategy are cited as key differentiators.
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With the new funding, Skims will accelerate its global rollout of flagship stores, expand its menswear and beauty offerings, and continue to leverage its celebrity-anchored positioning while blending direct-to-consumer and brick-and-mortar models. While speculation about a potential initial public offering (IPO) has surfaced, executives indicate they are focused now on growth and are not actively pursuing a public listing.
As consumer habits continue to evolve and global brands intensify competition, Skims’ next chapter will test whether its rapid valuation can be matched by sustained international retail execution and category diversification. Its success will likely serve as a bellwether for the broader phenomenon of celebrity-backed lifestyle brands building scaled consumer businesses.
