Skims is moving its curve-hugging universe firmly into ready-to-wear, and it is doing it with an unexpected ally. The brand has tapped Los Angeles based luxury label Vettese for a sculptural capsule that fuses Kari Vettese’s wrapping, runway-minded cuts with Skims’ second-skin Modal. For models and casting directors, the Skims x Vettese drop is less about another sellout launch and more about how body-contouring clothes are evolving on camera.
Landing July 22 at 9 a.m. PT on skims.com and at the New York and Los Angeles flagships, the limited-edition, one-season capsule brings seven elevated essentials into the Skims ecosystem. Think convertible tops, draped skirts and curve-enhancing dresses in ecru, cocoa and onyx, cut in Modal and offered from XXS to 4XL, priced roughly from 64 to 148 dollars. The pieces are intentionally multi-way, designed to be wrapped, buttoned, re-attached and even worn “the wrong way,” which opens up new possibilities for styling, movement and booking briefs.
Inside the Skims x Vettese sculptural capsule
For Skims, this is a first partnership with an emerging designer, a notable shift for a company best known for underwear, loungewear and shapewear. Kim Kardashian, cofounder and chief creative officer, said she has long admired the way Kari Vettese creates pieces that feel sculptural yet effortless to wear, and described bringing Vettese and Skims together as a natural fit that still feels fresh while staying true to both brands.
Vettese launched her namesake label in November 2022, building it around in-house production, craftsmanship and an independent approach to luxury. She focuses on ready-to-wear and runway, and appeared on the CFDA Fashion Calendar at New York Fashion Week for the first time in February 2025. She explained that Vettese is built on a belief in exceptional craftsmanship and independent creativity, while Skims has become one of the most influential cultural brands of its generation. The capsule links those worlds through her “interconnected” design philosophy, where each garment is conceived as part of a bigger dialogue, meant to connect, transform and be styled in multiple ways. Core Vettese Body and Tube ideas show up here as wrapping bands, tubular panels and detachable buttons that let tops and skirts snap together into dresses.
Body-contouring silhouettes made for camera and movement
The backbone of the capsule is Skims’ Modal fabric, normally used for basics, now molded into more architectural shapes. Dresses and tanks skim the body rather than compressing it, with draped panels that cross the torso, skirts that gather and fall from the hip, and straps and tubes that can be twisted into asymmetry. Vettese called the result “an elevated take on everyday wear,” with the brand’s signature wrapping and tubing language applied to clothes you can actually live in.
On a body, that interconnected construction matters. Long diagonal drapes carve out the waist on screen, tubular straps frame shoulders and collarbones, and wraparound bands pick up light as a model turns. Because so many elements can be reconfigured, a single look can read as off-shoulder, halter or one-sleeve in a few quick adjustments. For working talent, that means more ways to show range within one outfit during an ecommerce shoot or commercial spot, and more chances for casting teams to see how a model handles sculptural fabric in motion.
What this RTW move signals for casting and commercial bookings
Skims built its name on what happens under clothes. With Skims x Vettese, the brand is asking to own the outer layer too, in a way that sits comfortably next to contemporary RTW on a casting board. Campaigns and product pages will not just need bodies that fill out shapewear, they will need models who can sell a full look that reads as design driven, with drape and structure that need to be understood from multiple angles.
The inclusive size range from XXS to 4XL reinforces that this sculptural story is not reserved for one sample size. Wrapping, tubing and curve-enhancing seams look different on petite, tall, mid-size and curve frames, which pushes creative teams to think more expansively about who wears the clothes in campaigns and showroom appointments. For models, especially those outside the traditional runway sample, this kind of body-contouring RTW can translate into more commercial and digital work, from multi-look ecommerce to brand content that calls for second-skin pieces that still feel like real wardrobe. With Vettese planning another New York Fashion Week outing, the visibility from this collaboration also puts her on more casting radars, and the sculptural, convertible cuts she is known for are likely to shape the kinds of bodies and movement directors look for on her future runways.
