Don’t Call It a Collab— a Look at the New NikeSKIMS Activewear Brand

NikeSkims is being called a partnership because this isn’t a one and done collab between Nike and Skims. Nike teamed up with Skims to revamp their women’s activewear and become a real player in the high-end “fitness fashion” world. And Kim had always planned to add activewear to her already super successful brand, Skims. I know this audience understands that activewear is so much more than just clothes worn for exercising. Nike wanted in, and what better person to help with the trends than Kim K.?

So with that backdrop, I had high hopes for this partnership. Two powerhouse brands working together to deliver a great product that was going to be better than anything active either one had ever put out. And they delivered 58 activewear silhouettes in this first drop! Keeping to the size inclusivity of the Skims brand, this collection goes from XXS to 4XL. The aesthetic is minimalist layering, which looks super chic but does it actually work for the gym? Maybe … if you’re there to pose for Instagram… hmm.

I’ll admit I was caught up in the countdown to the launch and when it went live, I literally stopped what I was doing and ordered it all… and I mean, all of it. Skims is known for using a variety of technical fabrics and this NikeSKIMS activewear collection follows suit. So I ordered each and every fabric blend because you know that I had to put them all to the test.

And test them, I did. I took the NikeSKIMS collection to one of the more intense gyms on the Main Line and my favorite place to go all out, X Training. I wanted to see how these fabrics really held up doing the tough stuff, like the AssaultBike and the curved tread. (My blog photoshoots somehow always turn into a workout).

The result? Well, let’s just say I was glad to be in that gym alone and not in a room full of other gym goers…. can you say “exercise wardrobe malfunction”? There is absolutely no way that the voluptuous Kim Kardashian works out in some of these pieces. No way! So yeah, I was let down. Let down by the price. You expect Nike to be an accessible brand but with these prices, they clearly want to be in the same room with the other high end active brands and the quality just is not the same. The quality was good for a few pieces (which I will get to), but the ones that failed, really failed, in my opinion. But I was most disappointed by the function of the NikeSKIMS collection. I really thought that Skims would bring the fashion and Nike would bring the performance function… so where the hell was Nike’s voice when it came to some of the pieces?

All of that being said, there are some parts of the collection that I think are worth a look. So let’s start there. I love the colors in this drop but every fitness girlie needs a great pair of black leggings, and these are definitely that.

This legging is really good. It’s part of the Matte collection and I love the length of this pant— it's 29 inches which this tall girl really applauds because I never see that length in regular leggings. But no worries, the leggings also come in 26 inches.

NikeSKIMS delivered in the “smoothing” and “sculpting” department with these leggings. And the sweat wicking, Dri-FIT technology is key here. I like this waistband for holding me in and the mid-level compression is just right— easy to get on and it stays put. I’m telling you, this legging is the winner of the entire collection and because of it, it’s currently sold out in the 29 inch style but is available in 26 inches.

There is a big fail with my look here though, and it’s with this teeny, tiny bra— it is called the “Micro Scoop Bra”. There is absolutely no way I would ever workout in something this small and with this little support. I felt like the girls were going to make an unwanted appearance at any moment, and that’s before I got on the treadmill!

I ditched the “micro” bra and opted for a little more coverage up top — this adorable Mock Neck Racer Tank in the same Matte fabric.

And I like this style tank. It’s very flattering for the upper body, accentuating those shoulder and upper back gains. There are no cups with this top. Just that beautifully smoothing and sculpting fabric of the Matte collection. My only hesitation is the high neck might feel constricting when you workout and sweat. But I suppose that’s a personal preference… and how much you actually plan to sweat in these clothes.

These shorts come in a variety of lengths, which is great. I am wearing the 5 inch short but there are also 3 and 7 inch lengths to make everyone happy. The 3 inch biker shorts are basically sold out, so clearly the NikeSKIMS customer likes to show some leg. But this mid-range 5 inch short is still available in all three colors.

Now seems like a good time to talk about the colors of the NikeSKIMS collection because they are clearly the show stopper here. Just look at the aesthetic marketing for this campaign. The colors create the mood. The mood that you want to kick some ass but look super hot while doing it. The three colors Obsidian (black), Dark Sepia and Currant move through most of the fabrics. (The Shine and Vintage Seamless collections call the rich brown hue, Phoenix, and the Weightless collection adds a blueish gray called, Lead. You can see both Phoenix and Lead later in this post).

Above, I’m wearing Dark Sepia and below is the “limited edition” color, Currant. It’s a really beautiful shade of burgundy. And I am a fan of these two styles below— The Racerback Tank Top and the Crop 17” Legging (if you’re ready to bring back the capri legging with me).

So we talked about the good, but I do feel like it’s my duty to share the not-so-good with you. And it’s all wrong with the Shine collection. I was so excited for this fabric— It looked awesome on the website. But the reality is that it’s flimsy, unsupportive and looks cheap, IMO. I was sold on the marketing, and I feel duped. Of course the models look great wearing their Shine legging but let’s not forget the obvious— they are models. Plus, I am sure there is a ton of editing done to the pictures. And honestly, I wouldn’t be shocked if the models aren’t even wearing the same product that’s being sold. (Personally, I don’t think Kim is wearing the exact product in all the pictures, but that’s just my conjecture). Aside from the horrible look of this fabric, I could not wait to get these clothes off. They totally killed my gym vibe. I just felt awful in it all. And I hated the waist the most. This is not just light compression. There is absolutely nothing to this fabric and the thin drawstring of this waistband adds to the awfulness.

I tried another style top and was left feeling even worse. So it’s a big NO to the Shine fabric for me.

The Weightless Layers fabric is also a huge miss for me. I wouldn’t wear most of it on the street, let alone to actually exercise in. It seems like they were going for more of a high fashion look, but they missed the high fashion feel with this fabric. The construction of this top just looks so cheap, which it’s not — this little nothing of a shirt retails for $58!

I don’t hate the Airy collection. The fabric is more substantial and the styles in this collection do the oversized trend well. I just don’t see the general population, which both of these brands cater towards, wearing this tee or any of the pieces here. But the tee was definitely my favorite of the bunch. For reference I am wearing the medium, my TTS, which you can see below, is very oversized.

There is one more fabric called Vintage Seamless. Unfortunately, the leggings were sold out in minutes and haven’t reappeared since. I worry that the styling of this legging wouldn’t work for me anyway though— i.e., a small band on the waist that squeezes in all the wrong ways, and the V-panel that I just cannot wrap my 45-year-old head around wearing. So I’m not too sad about missing out on these leggings. I did order a top in this fabric so I could see and feel it. But I took one look at this thing and said, “oh hell no” to the idea of wrestling on a tight, thick, high neck top after sweating. I think I’ll leave the Vintage Seamless collection to the girls who plan to just sit around looking cute in their activewear.

NikeSKIMS wants to be a new brand that’s disrupting fitness and activewear. Will this vision actually play out? We’ve only seen the first drop and honestly, I need to see more. Up next— expect to see footwear and accessories. Please don’t disappoint on the NikeSKIMS sneaker!

*All photos in this post are clickable. This post contains links that are commissionable for me, at no additional cost to you. Rest assure, I only write about products that I genuinely use and love, and that will never change!