Kim Kardashian’s Skims nipple bras stir controversy

This is how Kim Kardashian presented her new Skims bra a few days ago, which is tempting with built-in artificial nipples.

The point of this marketing strategy was supposed to be that, even as a result of global warming, the nipples will remain erect and thus create a “perfect” bust silhouette under all conditions. However, to make it more than just a superficial aesthetic matter, the company donates 10% of the bra’s sales to a global organization called 1% for the Planet. But will Kim make up for the ironic promotion of the climate crisis with this gesture?

According to Slovak green influencer Natália Pažická, definitely not. She published a reaction video to the aforementioned campaign on her Tiktok account, but at the same time spoke comprehensively about the problematic nature of the brand.

Skims is currently valued at $4 billion. The brand started as a seller of women’s shapewear, but during its four years of existence, it expanded its offer to include swimwear and men’s products, for example. Her priority from the beginning was to celebrate all body types and curves, but in reality, she was accused of photoshopping models several times, as Natalia mentions in the video. One example is the edited photo of model Tyra Banks or the controversial Valentine’s Day collection photographed on Kendall Jenner. In both cases, this is an unrealistic standard that has faced criticism from all sides.

The male bodies on which Kim presented the drop of her men’s line are no exception to the unrealistic standard. One of the models was even the famous Brazilian soccer player Neymar, who, as you can imagine, is proud of his athletic figure. However, the other models did not have body diversity, the men’s Skims campaign rather presented a constellation of muscular kens.

But back to the bra. Not that it’s new to the market, Victoria’s Secret introduced the Bombshell Miraculous Nipple Bra about 15 years ago. However, Kim K. took the internet by storm precisely because of her bold marketing. Many also point to the denial of nature and suppression of nipple variability in connection with the bra. There are also opinions that talk about the sexualization of the female body and the dishonor of feminism. Last but not least, there are two opposing opinions, where one stands for disrespecting women after mastectomy, while the other emphasizes the functional benefits after the said procedure.

Another subtle misstep of the Skims brand is greenwashing in connection with the packaging. They bear the label “I’m not plastic” and talk about their compostability. However, Greenifluencer Natálie points out the fact that on the back of the package we find the number 4, which indicates a plastic product. Among other things, almost all the products offered are made from oil.

There is also the fact that the company has not signed an international agreement regarding safe working conditions for employees in Bangladesh, or that its partner factories do not even pay their workers the minimum wage.

However, the brand has not yet commented on any of the above controversies. We’ll see how it continues to develop.