Nike teams up with Skims on a new women’s brand

Nike is making a major play for female consumers and the athleisure market with its Skims partnership for a new women’s brand called NikeSkims.

Set to debut this spring, the line will include apparel, footwear, and accessories. The two companies are marketing it as a blend of what each brand is best known for—Nike for its innovation, sports science, and athlete insights, and Skims for its style and body-inclusive design.

“Over the past five years, Skims has redefined the intimates and casual apparel landscape, championing inclusivity and confidence,” Skims CEO and cofounder Jens Grede said in a statement. “Now, by partnering with Nike, the undisputed leader in athletic performance and innovation, we’re poised to create a new standard in the activewear market.”

What makes NikeSkims unique

The partnership marks the first time in Nike history it’s launched a new brand with an outside company.

NikeSkims represents one of the most mass-market collaborations yet for Skims, which has partnered in recent years with the NBA, the North Face, and Dolce & Gabbana. It also solidifies the underwear and shapewear brand’s deeper push into sports apparel. Skims launched its men’s line with pro athletes Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nick Bosa, and Neymar Jr., and became the official underwear brand of the NBA, WNBA, and USA Basketball. NikeSkims indicated it isn’t ruling out apparel for men down the line.

For Nike, it’s a chance to play catch-up in the athleisure space where it’s been lapped by competitors like Lululemon, Hoka, and On. Those brands’ early investment in comfortable activewear has paid off as the category has continued to grow in popularity since the pandemic. While Nike has traditionally anchored its entire design language in performance innovation, the Skims partnership offers the company a wider lane. Heidi O’Neill, president of consumer, product, and brand at Nike, says NikeSkims will “serve women so they can feel strong and sexy.”

Nike keeps charting its comeback

The NikeSkims announcement is the latest step in the storied sports apparel brand’s attempt to right the ship, and a sign that Nike sees women and girls as key to regaining its footing. Nike aired its first Super Bowl ad in 27 years (starring an all-female cast of athletes including basketball star Caitlin Clark and U.S. track and field Olympian Sha’Carri Richardson), and its newest signature shoe, with Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson, was announced this month.

“No footwear or apparel brand delivers the level of support Nike provides to women’s sport and movement,” Amy Montagne, Nike Women’s VP and general manager, said in a statement. With NikeSkims, “we’re deepening that support.”

By partnering with Skims, Nike is betting on the cultural cachet of a hip, younger brand, and the power of teamwork as it plots its comeback.

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