As Valentine’s Day approaches, consumers can expect retail companies to push out clothing collections that tap into the soft hues and romantic imagery that accompany the holiday of love. In proper Valentine’s Day spirit, Kim Kardashian‘s loungewear brand Skims turned heads when they teamed up with prolific singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey for a coquettish promotional photo shoot.
Both Del Rey and Skims posted photos and behind-the-scenes videos on Instagram to debut their new Valentine’s Shop lingerie and loungewear collection Jan. 18. The collection features bras, underwear, pajama sets, dresses and loungewear for women, men, children and even pets. The expansive clothing line boasts pieces adorned with heart shapes, bows, rosy reds and baby pinks perfect for V-day.
Calling Back to the Lana’s Lizzy Grant Era
Senior Emerson Glancy said she felt drawn to the aesthetics of the photo shoot and Kardashian’s continuous intentionality with her brand campaigns.
“The campaign was so chic, and I absolutely adore how cinematic her work is,” Glancy said. “The theatrics of the campaign aligned so much with the mid-2010s Lana Del Rey I worshipped in middle school.”
Since the photos’ release, fans online have obsessed over Del Rey’s appearance in a blonde wig and lingerie, according to an article by Rolling Stone. Fans believe the shoot serves as a departure from recent looks and calls back to Del Rey’s previous stage persona, Lizzy Grant, according to Yahoo News.
The photo shoot features Del Rey in various outfits and poses. For some shots, the photos take on a sense of sultriness, like when Del Rey drapes herself over a heart-shaped rose wreath and wears a pink nightgown paired with a soft gaze.
In other shots, Del Rey dresses in darker looks, like when she appears in a lengthy black dress, boots and veil with an arrow struck through her heart. Other photographs take a casual yet glamorous approach, such as shots of Del Rey posing with doe eyes while wearing a comfortable cotton heart-patterned sleep set.
Capturing Feminine Fantasy through Photography
Decorated British photographer Nadia Lee Cohen shot the campaign according to Culted Magazine. Cohen’s cinematic eye captures saturated hues and surrealism in the Skims ad. Cohen’s photoshoots often draw from the nostalgia of 1950s and 60s pop culture, tip-toeing the line between dream and reality.
Fans have noticed the ways Skims’ campaign capitalizes on Del Rey’s aesthetics as the collaboration’s muse. Considering Del Rey’s distinct singing portfolio contains songs with romantic rhythms and alluring lyricism, the photoshoot emphasizes the singer’s flair for romance.
As such, the collection fittingly presents vintage pin-up attire with whimsical makeup and facets of the lover-girl aesthetic displayed throughout Del Rey’s photoshoot.
“The shoot was very well tailored to Lana’s old Hollywood, 60’s, Didion-esque aesthetic,” Glancy said. “They definitely capitalized on microtrends like bows, crushed velvet and that light baby pink color that seems to be ‘in’ right now.”
Fans Weigh in on Lana x Skims
Some students said they gained interest in Del Rey’s Skims collaboration as a fan of the singer-songwriter.
Senior Eric Njuku said that while the collaboration targets women, he is nevertheless impressed by the choices offered for Valentine’s Day.
“I love Miss Lana and am a big fan of hers, so I was surprised by this photoshoot since she never collabs with any brand, especially one like Skims,” Njuku said. “I loved the photography for the campaign, and collaborating with Lana for a Valentine’s theme is very iconic.”
The V-day collection has garnered plenty of online commotion, inspiring customers who have never purchased from Skims to reconsider their choices. Meanwhile, other fans of Del Rey remain skeptical of the collaboration.
Senior Mia Boyd said she loves Del Rey as a performer and appreciates the marketing tactics used in the campaign but is not sure she will purchase anything from the collab for herself.
“I have never bought anything from the brand before because I don’t really like the idea of putting money in Kim’s wallet, and I have heard the quality is not great,” Boyd said. “However, I am pretty tempted because some of the sets are super cute.”
Nevertheless, the internet has shown its full support for the Valentine’s Day collection.
Just four days after the campaign photos dropped on Skims’ Instagram page, the photos amassed $13.7 million in MIV (media impact value). MIV is a proprietary metric that allows brands to assign a monetary value to every post, interaction or article to measure impact and identify contributions to brand performance, according to Statista.
In fact, Del Rey’s own Instagram post on her “@honeymoon” account made more than $4 million for Skims. When the collection sold out, the site crashed from all the visits.
Is the Valentine’s Day Collection followers Worth it?
Some fans of Del Rey appreciate the campaign photos, but others suggest saving money and enjoying the visuals of the campaign rather than purchasing Skims as a result of the advertisements.
“While I don’t know if I would recommend Skims in general, I think this particular collection is super cute and coquette,” Boyd said. “I love the vintage, sultry vibe and definitely appreciate the marketing genius.”
Others suggest the collection is the perfect transition point for newcomers to get into the brand and explore for themselves.
“This collab felt very much out of a vintage Valentine’s Day card, and I would recommend Skims in general since the quality and price point are amazing,” Glancy said. “I really like that she has kind of an androgynous fit to most of the garments and brings a lot of menswear influence while maintaining a sort of femininity.”
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Contact Emma Ibarra via email: emma.ibarra@pepperdine.edu
