Jens and Emma Grede not only have big plans for Skims, Good American and Frame denim but they see even more in their future.
Last May, Jens and Emma Grede bought the $24 million Bel Air home that belonged to Serge Azria, founder of contemporary brands Equipment, Joie and Current/Elliott, and a made-in-Los Angeles fashion mogul alongside brother Max Azria of another era, the 1980s to early 2000s.
As cofounders of Kim Kardashian’s Skims shapewear, Khloé Kardashian’s Good American denim and the contemporary men’s and women’s casual wear label Frame before that, they have used marketing backgrounds to seize cultural moments, sharpened learnings from one venture to the next, and steered their brands to growth through COVID-19.Now the moguls-in-the-making are ready to take it to the next level, projecting revenues for 2021 will reach more than $500 million between their three brands.
“We’re a group of people who genuinely like working together,” said Emma, 38. “Of course, all the conversations happen at the oddest times, squeezed between reading books to the kids or 6 a.m. on a Saturday morning before everyone in my house wakes up.”With her background in influencer marketing, as founder of the ITB Worldwide agency, Emma has had a relationship with the Kardashians for 15 years, which led to the creation of both Skims and Good American.
“Skims may be the most successful company I’ve ever been involved in and it’s both of them hitting their stride,” said Howard, who has experience investing in a number of fashion brands, including J Brand, Seven for All Mankind and Rag & Bone. “They are like great athletes at the best part of their life. And both of them are left brain/right brain people, they’re organized, thoughtful, businesslike, highly creative and they have really good taste.
“We sell out because Kim Kardashian speaks to 200 million people on Instagram, which is like five Super Bowls, and we’re doing it every day with a continuous stream of new and interesting product,” said Howard, adding that Skims has been a beneficiary of the pandemic in that customers leaned into loungewear, became more comfortable ordering underwear online — and because the “Fits Everybody” garments are forgiving enough that return rates are lower than average.
Jens and his Frame cofounder, fellow Swede Torstensson, met in the early 2000s while working for Tyler Brule at Wallpaper, then set up their own creative agency, Saturday London. Among their projects was working with Net-a-porter to launch Mr. Porter. This fall, Frame is relaunching men’s with more casual suiting and knitwear. The brand is also focusing more on store experience, with photo and art exhibitions, and buzzy partnerships with brands like The Carlyle Hotel.
She sold Khloé Kardashian on the idea, and a pair of elastic, corset-slimming jeans that fit her without needing alterations. When the two debuted Good American in 2016, they sold $1 million worth of jeans the first day, at premium prices starting at $99.“When you think of Skims and Good American, they are passions of those girls. Kim has been talking about underwear and shapewear for years, there are so many iconic images of her duct taping herself, or in a corset.
“I’ve made it a point not to talk about their private lives. They are scrutinized every single day, and I don’t need to be another person who adds to that,” said Emma when asked about the post. “What I do know is that Khloé is an incredible business partner, we speak every single day. But we are in a media landscape where you are damned if you do and damned if you don’t and if you have a business that can be taken down by something like that, you shouldn’t be in business.
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