Look Out Kim, Here Comes Calvin
After forty years of pioneering designer underwear, Calvin Klein is stepping into shapewear.
Fresh from the revival of its top-tier Calvin Klein Collection imprint, Calvin Klein is stripping back its layers to usher in a new chapter focused shapewear, the modern foundation of any good look.
The debut Calvin Klein shapewear offering includes no-show thongs, briefs, mid-thigh shorts, bodysuits, leggings and slips, available in compression levels that range from barely-there Second Skin to the extra-firm Secure Sculpt.
Calvin Klein's abrupt foray into shapewear is already available on Calvin Klein’s website.
This new category isn't that much of a stretch (pun intended) for the world-famous undies label, considering Klein’s penchant for viral undergarment moments.
Sometimes, it feels like you can’t go one full scroll online without seeing a new photoshoot starring the brand's famous cotton logo underwear.
This was most true a decade or so ago, really but when the internet's favorite chef, Jeremy Allen White, wore a pair of the iconic trunks (and nothing else) in 2024, it felt like 2016 Calvin Klein all over again.
So, shapewear isn't a reach for Calvin Klein. But its timing is quite interesting, considering the state of SKIMS. Kim Kardashian’s shapewear imprint began as a disrupter in the shapewear space but has been doing pretty much everything but shapewear lately. Not literally, of course — SKIMS still sells a massive assortment of its signature body-contouring bits — but the brand has been promoting its extracurriculars heavily as of late.
From churning out tonal ski suits with The North Face to launching a brand-new brand with Nike, the SKIMS brand appears to have a vested interest in fashion domination beyond waist-cinching garments.
But with this big-picture view comes a small gap in the short-term. That shapewear real estate is prime and Calvin Klein is perfectly poised to plant a seriously snatched flag.
