How Skims and On Create Cultural Relevance

Many fashion brands are realising that operating across multiple cultural sectors is a business necessity. In our social feeds, fashion competes with music, film, and sports for our attention.

Learning how to tap into other cultural sectors is something that many fashion brands are trying to do, but few have done it better than this week’s guests.

At BoF VOICES 2024, BoF founder and CEO Imran AmedI spoke with Jens Grede, co-founder and CEO of Kim Kardashian’s Skims, the shapewear brand and David Allemann, co-founder and executive co-chairman of the Swiss sportswear company On, to learn how they’ve tapped into the cultural zeitgeist, especially at the growing intersection of sports and fashion.  

Key Insights: 

• For both Grede and Allemann, the foundation of a successful brand lies in creating exceptional products. Grede emphasises the critical importance of innovation, crediting Skims’ success to years of fabric development before launching the brand. “Before a brand, there are products, and you can’t build a great brand without a great product,” he explains. Similarly, Allemann shared On’s origins, which began with a makeshift prototype crafted from a garden hose to test their signature “cloud tech” soles. 

• Sports and fashion have become deeply interconnected, reflecting how cultural and personal identity have evolved. Allemann notes that, over the past 15 years, sportswear has transitioned from functional equipment to an extension of one’s personality, becoming a new uniform. “Because it becomes part of our personality, it’s elevated to a whole different level, and so in a sense, [sport] becomes fashion.” Athletes now use fashion as a platform to build their personal brands, with Grede describing it as “a superpower” that amplifies their influence beyond their sport. 

• Tapping into culture is essential for brands looking to stay relevant and expand their influence. Grede describes building a brand as finding “a little part in this moment in popular culture,” which requires an understanding of the zeitgeist. For Skims, partnerships like their recent collaboration with Dolce & Gabbana push the brand into uncharted aesthetic territory while providing customers with something entirely new. On takes a similarly thoughtful approach, having turned Roger Federer from an ambassador into an investor. 

• As brands grow, the decision to go public can be a significant milestone, but timing is critical. Grede acknowledges that Skims will eventually become a public company but stressed the importance of focusing on expansion and building away from the scrutiny of the public eye. Allemann shared advice from On’s IPO journey, describing the need to stay close to the customer: “On really tries to be very close to the consumer and be the brand that helps the explorers and the dreamers and probably even the rebels to ignite their spirit. I think that's what's really important right now.”

Additional Resources:

• BoF VOICES 2024: Global Culture and Creativity 
• The BoF Podcast | Jens Grede on Building Skims, Frame and the Future of Fashion
• Why On Running Could Be Worth $6 Billion | BoF

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