{"id":19443,"date":"2025-12-22T16:07:16","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T16:07:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2025\/12\/22\/meet-the-power-couple-behind-kim-kardashians-5b-skims\/"},"modified":"2025-12-22T16:07:21","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T16:07:21","slug":"meet-the-power-couple-behind-kim-kardashians-5b-skims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2025\/12\/22\/meet-the-power-couple-behind-kim-kardashians-5b-skims\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Power Couple Behind Kim Kardashian\u2019s $5B Skims"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Jens Grede (L) and Emma Grede attend the NikeSKIMS Launch Event at Nike House of Innovation on Sept. 24, 2025 in New York City. Dimitrios Kambouris\/Getty Images for SKIMS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With a freshly minted $5 billion valuation, Kim Kardashian<\/a>\u2019s shapewear company Skims has become a case study in modern celebrity-backed retail done right. While Kardashian is indisputably the face of the brand, her co-founders, Emma Grede<\/a> and Jens Grede<\/a>, are the architects and operational engine behind its success. The husband-and-wife team also oversees a growing portfolio of brands within and beyond the Kardashian-Jenner universe.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIf the KarJenners offer the rocket, the Gredes bring the fuel,\u201d Christine Russo, principal at Retail Creative and Consulting Agency and U.S. Correspondent for Retail Technology Innovation Hub, told Observer. \u201cWhether it\u2019s celebrity-founded or not, they understand the fragility of attention and are able to <\/span>kick a flywheel and support it with functionality.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Emma Grede, 43, began her career in London, while Jens Grede, reportedly 47 (his exact birthday isn\u2019t public) grew up in Sweden. The two met through their work in fashion. Emma worked as a fashion show and events producer before launching a talent and events management company in 2008. Jens went on to co-found the denim label Frame in 2012, the same year the couple married. He has also partnered on multiple ventures with his childhood friend Erik Torstensson, including fashion marketing firm Saturday Group.<\/p>\n

In 2015, Emma met Kris Jenner<\/a> and pitched the idea for a denim brand built around Khloe Kardashian. The result was Good American, which launched in 2016 and became one of the most successful celebrity-backed apparel brands to date. Today, Jens serves as chairman of Frame and CEO of Skims, while Emma is Skims\u2019 chief product officer. The couple has four children.<\/p>\n

Rewriting the celebrity playbook<\/h3>\n

Together, the Gredes have co-founded and hold ownership stakes in Skims with Kim Kardashian, Good American with Khloe Kardashian and Safely with Kris Jenner. Emma also co-founded Off Season in partnership with fashion designer Kristin Juszczyk, the NFL and Fanatics, while Jens continues to build Frame as a standalone fashion brand.<\/p>\n

Emma has emerged as a visible business figure in her own right, appearing on Shark Tank<\/em> as the show\u2019s first mixed-race woman investor and on the U.K.\u2019s Dragon\u2019s Den<\/em>. In 2022, the Gredes, alongside Kim Kardashian, received the Council of Fashion Designers of America\u2019s inaugural Innovation Award.<\/p>\n

Their celebrity-driven ventures haven\u2019t been without missteps. Skims faced early backlash over its original name, Kimono (a type of traditional Japanese robe), prompting a swift rebrand after criticism over cultural appropriation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is illustrative of the very responsive approach that they\u2019ve taken in staying on top of consumer trends, listening to feedback and using it to iterate and improve what the brands offer,\u201d Sky Canaves, principal analyst of retail and ecommerce at eMarketer, told Observer.<\/p>\n

Sustainability remains a weak point for Skims, Canaves noted, which has scored poorly on materials and sourcing and has yet to meaningfully address those concerns. That scrutiny could intensify as the brand expands into Europe, where environmental regulations are stricter. Still, Canaves added, \u201cI can\u2019t think of a comparable force in the fashion industry today across multiple brands that is not a major conglomerate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEmma and Jens Grede have built brands with backbone,\u201d Albert Varkki, retail strategist and co-founder of luxury leather brand Von Baer, told Observer. \u201cEach label in their portfolio has a crisp product thesis\u2014Skims focuses on fit and solution wear, Good American focuses on inclusive denim\u2014and they keep building with that discipline. That clarity and strategy are why their repeat-purchase rate is unusually strong for celebrity brands.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Varkki, the Gredes have rewritten the celebrity-brand playbook. \u201cInstead of putting all the weight on hype drops, they built operational consistency\u2014stable SKU architecture, replenishable hero products and real fit testing. That stability is what gave celebrity branding legitimacy again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fashion brands are rarely family businesses. The industry tends to elevate singular creative figures\u2014Ralph Lauren, Vera Wang, Calvin Klein\u2014but the Gredes are quietly reshaping that model from behind the scenes. Their partnership, both personal and professional, remains central to their success.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been a gift and a blessing that we had a working relationship together for just under a year before we actually started dating,\u201d Emma Grede said during a conversation with her husband on her podcast Aspire<\/em>.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up in a home where work and life were always intertwined, and it wasn\u2019t something that my parents were trying to separate. They got a tremendous amount of joy and value out of it, just like I believe I\u2019m getting a tremendous amount of joy and value out of working with you,\u201d Jens Grede said. \u201cWe\u2019re lucky now that we don\u2019t have to argue so much about who\u2019s taking out the trash. But for most people, the division of roles and responsibilities in a home, in any relationship, it sure looks like work to me. So I don\u2019t make that much distinction.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"Meet<\/p><\/div>\n