Skims lands in India via Reliance Brands. At $78 for a shapewear short, the brand faces local rivals priced at ₹899 with better fit for Indian body types.
Alpha Score of 43 reflects weak overall profile with moderate momentum, weak value, weak quality. Based on 3 of 4 signals — score is capped at 90 until remaining data ingests.
Kim Kardashian's shapewear brand Skims is coming to India through an exclusive partnership with Reliance Brands, announced August 5. The first stores will open in Mumbai and Delhi, followed by a phased expansion across other cities and digital channels.
Skims, founded in 2019 with Jens Grede, raised $225 million at a $5 billion valuation in November 2025. Projected net sales for 2025 exceed $1 billion. The brand has already opened in London and Dubai, with Hong Kong and Seoul on the roadmap.
"The excitement we've seen from our community in India has been truly incredible," Kim said in the announcement. Isha Ambani, director of Reliance Retail Ventures, said Skims had "changed how the world thinks about shape, comfort and inclusivity."
Reliance is not a newcomer in intimatewear. The group acquired Zivame in 2020, took over the Amante business in 2021, and bought an 89% stake in Clovia for ₹950 crore in March 2022. That portfolio spans mass, mass-premium and aspirational offerings. Skims brings global brand equity; Reliance brings distribution, physical retail and years of data on how Indian consumers shop for intimate apparel.
The Indian shapewear market is projected to reach $202.6 million by 2033, according to Grand View Research. Indian brands have already been working to tailor products for local body types. Butt-Chique, founded in 2020 by Kamakshi Agarwala, developed its own size chart after struggling to find shapewear that fit plus-size Indian proportions. "Even the lightest shade is not your Indian lightest shade," Agarwala said.
Underneat, the brand launched by content creator Kusha Kapila and Vimarsh Razdan in 2025, raised $6 million from Fireside Ventures in December 2025. Its shapewear runs from ₹899 for a high-waist brief to ₹2,299 for a brief bodysuit. Saree-specific shapers are priced at ₹1,199. Size range extends to 5XL.
Skims pricing sits considerably higher. Its Cool Shapewear High-Waisted Short costs $78 in the US, roughly ₹6,500. That positions homegrown brands like Underneat at a very different price point for Indian consumers who want everyday shapewear, not just an occasional luxury.
Preeta Sukhtankar, founder of The Label Life, has been wearing shapewear for two decades. She owns Skims but prefers Underneat. "The material is sort of thicker and it has a band with the elastic, which doesn't allow you to roll it off," she said. With Skims she found the opposite. "It doesn't do anything. It doesn't shape."
Hitanshi Kamdar, a London-based e-commerce editor who grew up in Mumbai, owns two Skims pieces including a light-compression bodysuit. She said they "really cinch in" her waist and smooth lines under fitted clothes. She finds the compression demanding – getting into it is "a little bit of a workout." She prefers M&S for lighter everyday wear.
The sustainability angle is harder to smooth over. Most shapewear uses synthetic fibres and elastane that are difficult to recycle. India generates 70.73 lakh tonnes of textile waste annually, per the Ministry of Textiles. Aishwarya Lahariya, a textile scientist and co-founder of Jiwya, said the problem is structural. "The polluting impact of synthetic fibres, dyes and finishes is not talked enough even today," she said.
Pankhuri Harikrishnan, founder of Fetch Consulting, said there is room for everyone. "This is an industry that is here to stay," she said, pointing to potential for local brands to expand beyond metros into Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
Anjali Gaekwar, a luxury brand advisor and co-founder of Lighthouse, said Indian players understand local body proportions, climate, clothing habits like saris and kurtas, and price sensitivity in a way outsiders cannot easily replicate.
That may be the central test for Skims. Can a brand built on global celebrity translate its message to a market where the body underneath the shapewear is not a Western sample size? The partnership with Reliance gives Skims a local operator that already knows the intimatewear customer. Whether the product itself fits remains to be seen.
Drafted by a large language model from the source reporting linked above, then screened by automated publishing checks. It is not read by a journalist before publication. Some articles cite our Alpha Score. Verify prices and figures against the original source. Educational coverage, not personalized advice.