Nike’s Everywhere All at Once Play: Skims, Amazon and A 5K Run
A high-profile Skims partnership, a return to Amazon, and solid visibility at Gunna’s Wunna Run in Prospect Park, different lanes, same mission: Nike wants to reconnect.
The NikeSKIMS Era Is Upon Us
Nike officially announced the debut of NikeSKIMS today, unveiling a collection campaign fronted by Serena Williams, Sha’Carri Richardson, Jordan Chiles, Chloe Kim, Madisen Skinner, Romane Dicko, Beatriz Hatz, Nelly Korda and Skims co-founder Kim Kardashian herself. The collection launches September 26 on Nike.com, Skims.com, and at Nike’s SoHo and House of Innovation stores in Manhattan, plus The Grove in Los Angeles. Nike’s stock saw the tiniest of pops on the news.
Zooming Out: We’re in a post-leggings world. Activewear is still relevant in the gym but has lost its grip as a lifestyle staple. (As of 1Q25, leggings made up 39% of bottoms across activewear brands, down from 47% in 2022, per Edited via Business of Fashion.) Against that backdrop, NikeSKIMS’ gym-first positioning makes sense.
For Skims, the partnership is an undeniable win: attachment to one of the world’s most famous brands expands not just its name recognition but also its credibility in performance. For Nike, which has struggled to reengage fragmented women’s shoppers, the near-term halo effect isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s an emergency-level need. And if, two years from now, it’s clear Skims walked away with the bigger boost, it won’t matter, because in the present, this is the life raft Nike had to conjure to stay afloat.
The Reception: Reactions online split down familiar Kardashian lines: super-fans and haters alike. On Skims’ subreddit, comments skewed positive, though engagement was still modest (62 comments at the time of writing). Commentors loved the size range of the models, the seam-free shorts and the “footsie grip” leggings. (There were also people lusting after the Nike Rifts worn by a model that are not for sale but ugh, an ongoing missed opportunity if ever there was one!)
Campaign + Creative: The launch campaign, Bodies at Work, was directed by Janicza Bravo for Wieden+Kennedy. That’s a pivot from Skims’ recent in-house, fashion-world-driven campaigns, and yet still photography was provided by Hugh Wilson (who shot Skims’ recent collegiate campaign), with styling by David Friend, who splashed on the scene years ago as a muse of Saint Laurent’s Anthony Vaccarello.
The Product: The core collection, updated each season, features three fabrics: Shine, Airy, and Matte, blending Nike’s Dri-Fit with Skims’ mid-level compression. Seasonal capsules include Vintage Seamless, Matte Tricot and Shiny Nylon. Prices run from $38 for a Vintage seamless bra up to $128 for Matte leggings.
Nike Is Finally Live on Amazon
Nike’s official Amazon store went live a couple of weeks ago, about four months after news of the renewed partnership. The assortment is limited—think Court Vision but not Air Force 1, Air Max Excee rather than Air Max 90. There’s no Jordan at all, not even the budget models now allocated to Famous Footwear.
At the same time, Amazon has pulled premium Nike product sold by third-party sellers. That’s notable given Nike and Amazon allegedly parted ways six years ago because Nike refused to allocate premium product to the platform.
To get a read on what’s changed, I spoke with Griffin Myers, a longtime 3P (third party) Nike seller on Amazon who also runs Ponderosa Commerce, a consulting firm for brands on the platform. (Check out my interview with him in May when the news was announced.) Myers said that while Nike’s new storefront improves the customer experience, it also tightens supply:
“Amazon has announced no changes in select [Amazon Standard Identification Number] gating. Nike’s new storefront and listing definitely improves the shopping experience for the end customer. On the downside, many old SKUs will eventually fade out, resulting in a large percentage of their catalog being out of stock. Prior to Nike and Amazon’s partnership, it was up to the ‘free market’ to source products. Naturally, if there was demand, people found a way to source the products. Now, as soon as Nike runs out of stock, the item is not able to be sold by anyone else. Amazon becomes less of a marketplace and more of a retailer—once it’s gone, it’s gone.”
The Sneaker Brand’s People Wore at Gunna’s 5K “Wunna Run” in Prospect Park
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