Skims will receive the inaugural Innovation Award presented by Amazon Fashion at the 2022 CFDA Fashion Awards.
The Innovation Award recognizes a fashion visionary, leading with technology and innovation in branding/marketing, social media, customer engagement, performance or product development, that shapes how customers are shopping for fashion.
Skims cofounder and creative director Kim Kardashian, cofounder and chief executive officer Jens Grede and founding partner and chief product officer Emma Grede will accept the award at this year’s CFDA Fashion Awards ceremony on Nov. 7 at Cipriani South Street at Casa Cipriani in Manhattan, New York.
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Founded in 2019, Skims offers underwear, loungewear and shapewear. In a story last spring about the company’s pilot program of a two-hour delivery in Southern California, Kardashian told WWD, “Innovation has been so important to me since the day we launched Skims. Every way we advance the brand is based on the needs of our community.”
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The company continues to innovate, expand its selection and introduce categories at accessible price points, looking to connect with women of all ages, sizes and backgrounds.
Last January, Skims revealed it had raised $240 million in a series B funding round, led by Lone Pine Capital, bringing the brand’s valuation at that time to $3.2 billion. D1 Capital was also an investor in that round, as well as existing backers Thrive Capital, Imaginary Ventures and Alliance Consumer Growth, as reported. The additional capital was earmarked to innovate in new categories, open brick-and-mortar Skims stores and expand abroad.
“Fashion relies on true visionaries to push the envelope and propel our industry forward,” said Steven Kolb, CEO of the CFDA. “With Skims, Kim, Emma and Jens have pioneered new technology in the process of reinventing the concept of solutions-oriented shapewear. Together with our CFDA Fashion Awards partner Amazon Fashion, which is a continuous innovator on behalf of customers, the CFDA is incredibly proud to honor Skims with the inaugural Innovation Award.”
Muge Erdirik Dogan, president of Amazon Fashion, said, “The Innovation Award is an opportunity for Amazon Fashion to honor the visionaries who have been instrumental in evolving the industry and shaping how customers are shopping for fashion.
“This year we’re excited to not only unveil our newly established Innovation Award with the CFDA, but to also present the award to Skims. Similar to how we work at Amazon Fashion, Skims works backward from the customers’ latent needs to innovate on their behalf and provide the solutions they’re seeking, to make shopping easier and more delightful. We look forward to this year’s CFDA’s Fashion Awards and to continue our joint mission with the CFDA to champion American talent.”
In a joint statement from Skims, the partners said, “Skims is delighted to be recognized as the first recipient of the Innovation Award presented by Amazon Fashion. Thank you to the CFDA and Amazon Fashion for acknowledging our efforts in the industry as we continue to innovate to find solutions for all customers.”
To mark the CFDA’s 60th anniversary, the awards will be cohosted by CFDA members Joseph Altuzarra, Gabriela Hearst, Aurora James, Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough.