Fendi is following up last month’s “Fendace” runway show with yet another collaboration, this one with Kim Kardashian West’s Skims shapewear brand.
Scheduled to go live Nov. 9, the collection centers around the form-fitting silhouettes Skims has made its name on, while also drawing inspiration from an archival Fendi collection—first presented by Karl Lagerfeld in 1970—that focused on tube tops, pop colors and tight sashes.
The hybrid Fendi x Skims logo will appear on reversible skin-tight jersey, embossed into knitwear, printed on underwear and hosiery and “writ large” across recycled nylon sportswear, Fendi said. The wide-ranging collection will also include velvet-made silhouettes, bonded leather dresses, puffer coats and colorful beach and shapewear.
“The innovation in fabrics and fit typical to Skims paired with the luxury and quality of Fendi may feel unexpected to some people, but the similarities between our creative vision and goals are so closely aligned,” Kardashian West said in a statement. “It’s that tension that excites me.”
Kim Jones, Fendi’s women’s wear artistic director, said the idea to collaborate with Skims arose when he was sitting with his team in their studio in Rome.
“Suddenly, all the women went silent and started looking at their phones,” Jones said in a statement. “I didn’t know what was going on, but they were waiting for the launch of the new Skims collection. It was then that I thought: let’s do something together.”
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Beyond apparel, the Skims collaboration will feature a shearling hiking sandal that Fendi described as “imbued with a distinctly L.A. energy” and multiple new iterations of the Fendi First heel. Multiple bags will also be included in the collection.
“Both Fendi and Skims have a cultural power very different from each other, but equally as strong,” Kardashian West added. “We share a desire to push boundaries, think differently and challenge convention which is why we found so much common ground collaborating on this collection together.”
Fendi’s Skims collaboration comes as one of shapewear’s other biggest names, Spanx, celebrates receiving a major vote of confidence from an investment giant. Last week, Blackstone announced it had acquired a majority stake as part of a deal that valued the brand at $1.2 billion. The purchase will leave founder Sara Blakely with a “significant equity stake” in the company. The businesswoman will retain oversight of daily operations when the deal closes. To celebrate the occasion, Blakely told workers she would give each employee two first-class plane tickets to any destination, as well as $10,000 in cash to spend on the trip.
The Fendi-Skims team-up will also arrive in the wake of Milan Fashion Week’s “Fendace” show. The star-studded event saw Jones and Silvia Venturini Fendi, Fendi’s men’s wear designer create 25 looks based on Versace’s archive, while Donatella Versace did the same for Fendi. According to Jones, the intention for the presentation wasn’t virality or competition, but rather “we wanted to do it because we love each other.”