Kim Kardashian Brings NikeSKIMS Its First Outerwear Drop Oct. 22
The Varsity Collection lands Thursday with Sherpa-lined jackets, crunchy nylon parkas, and University Red on everything ... Kardashian calls the color 'bold, effortless.'
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NikeSKIMS has spent its first year making you look better at the gym. On October 22, it is trying to dress you for the walk home.
The Varsity Collection, announced October 20 and dropping globally on Thursday at nike.com/NikeSKIMS and SKIMS.com/NikeSKIMS, is the joint label's first outerwear release. The Nike and SKIMS partnership launched in September 2025 as a women's activewear label. A year in, it is reaching for a coat rack.
Sherpa and Crunchy Nylon, Explained
Two fabric frameworks carry the outerwear side of the Varsity Collection. Sherpa uses Nike Therma-FIT technology with a high-pile exterior and a soft brushed interior, reinforced with recycled nylon contrast panels. Sherpa pieces include a vest, a half-zip jacket, and a hooded jacket. The Crunchy Nylon range uses a water-repellent, textured shell built for volume and structure, covering a cropped jacket, a hooded parka, two-inch shorts, and wide-leg pants.
The collection also expands existing NikeSKIMS fabric franchises including Weightless Layers, Performance Cotton Blend, Stretch Knit, Matte, and Airy in new colorways. On the footwear side, the Rift Satin adds University Red (IQ7158-601) and Shadow Brown at $160 retail, per House of Heat.
University Red and the Alabama Cheer Campaign
University Red is the season's new anchor colorway, running across the Sherpa and Crunchy Nylon outerwear, Matte, Weightless Layers, and footwear. Kim Kardashian, SKIMS co-founder and Chief Creative Officer, told the Nike newsroom the collection's goal is for women to "feel confident and put together," and called University Red "bold, effortless."
The campaign fronts the University of Alabama cheer team, the reigning UCA Division 1A cheerleading champion and a three-decade all-sport Nike partner. The collegiate casting reinforces NikeSKIMS' positioning as a women's performance brand, not just a shapewear label that borrowed a swoosh.
What a Jacket Means for a Gym Brand
NikeSKIMS launched with bodysuit-level fit as its identity: seamless fabrics, zero-gap construction, activewear built to move in. Outerwear is a different category brief. A jacket is visible from a distance, worn in public spaces, and layered over whatever the person chose underneath. It is a brand's bid for street presence and a year-round slot in the closet instead of just the gym bag.
The Varsity Collection, with its campus-facing name, collegiate campaign, and a colorway lifted straight from the university athletics vocabulary, is pitched squarely at the demographic that has driven NikeSKIMS' engagement since launch. Whether the outerwear range holds that interest through fall and into winter is the test that every activewear brand eventually faces when it reaches for the coat rack.
Ad Watch News is an independent commentary site. We have no affiliation with Nike, SKIMS, NikeSKIMS, Kim Kardashian, or the University of Alabama. All facts are drawn from the published sources listed below.
Sources & further reading
- Nike Newsroom: NikeSKIMS Introduces Outerwear and Adds a Bold Red Colorway (Oct 20, 2026)
- House of Heat: NikeSKIMS Champions Red for The Varsity Collection, Releases Oct. 22
- Complex: NikeSKIMS Introduces Outerwear With Winter-Friendly Varsity Collection (Oct 19, 2026)
- Wikimedia Commons: Kim Kardashian at Tudo É Justo São Paulo 2025, Pedro Paracampos, CC BY-SA 4.0
