“EveryBODY is Wearing Skims”: Why Nicola Coughlan’s Recent Skims Appearance is GENIUS
Not only did Nicola Coughlan succeed at being an amazing leading woman for season 3 of Bridgerton, but she also succeeded in making millions of mid-size and plus-sized women feel represented. Today, Nicola was announced as the new face of SKIMS’ latest Soft Lounge collection campaign to promote their soft lounge long slip dresses. Just like Penelope’s new wardrobe in the third season of Bridgerton, the dresses compliment her figure very well. Isn’t that right, Luke— I mean Colin?
Honestly, her eyes ARE definitely a remarkable shade of blue and they shine even brighter when she’s wearing SKIMS
Nicola Coughlan and SKIMS collaboration is one of the most timely, and genius collaborations. Mrs. “Perfect Breast” being the model of SKIMS plus-sized friendly brand not only makes sense but is more importantly making a statement.
ABOUT THIS CAMPAIGN
Kim Kardashian’s well-loved brand SKIMS has been busy this year with multiple successful campaigns that’s included Jude Bellingham, Jhene Aiko, WNBA’s Skylar Diggins, Sabrina Carpenter, and many more well-loved all-stars. This collaboration is probably my absolute favorite so far. Not only because Nicola Coughlan has charmed her way into being one of my current favorite actresses at the moment but also because including her in the brand reinforces the message of all bodies being beautiful. This campaign highlights a summer staple, a figure-fitting maxi dress in a way that encourages body positivity. Not only does the product come in a variety of colors, it comes in a wide variety of sizes too with sizes ranging from extra-EXTRA small to a 4x. What I love about this campaign most is that it’s making it very clear who they’re targeting and is showing extreme intentionality not only in choosing Nicola as the model but with the timing of the launch as well. Using the slogan “Everybody is wearing SKIMS” is the simplistic, but perfect way to promote their values about body positivity and inclusion. The brand has made it very clear that this dress was designed for women with curvy, hourglass figures in mind. In the previous seasons, the costume designers purposely created a wardrobe that was loudly-colored, and unflattering to reflect the character’s lacked confidence and self-worth. All over platforms like TikTok and Twitter, women are expressing how embraced they feel seeing Penelope Featherington, a plus-sized character have fashionable looks that accentuate her figure instead of hiding it.
Related: Bridgerton Is Brand: A Breakdown of the Series Escalating Success
It’s never been a secret that the fashion industry has had a long history of fat-phobia. With the lack of consideration for curvier women, plus-sized women have had to suffer for YEARS settling for tasteless garments that never made them feel comfortable, or sexy. ‘SKIMS has joined the other small group of brands to include women of all sizes in everyday clothing that can make even the women who wear a size 3X feel deserving to show off their voluptuous figures in public.
Although her spotlight as the lead of Bridgerton’s season three has earned her more supporters who are cheering for her success and appreciate her representation as an underrepresented depiction of women in romance productions, she’s also gained a few degrading comments about her size. Nicola received ridiculous comments body shaming her about her weight and claiming that she is “too fat” to play a romantic role in Bridgerton. A disgusting comment from a news reporter said that she was “too fat to make dresses look nice.” THE Nicola Coughlan doesn’t look good in dresses!? Comedy. Of course, their comments are far from the truth, but they gave SKIMS an opportunity to empower Nicola and other women who were affected by these horrid statements. Putting Nicola in the SKIMS staple dress was a genius way to tell all of the haters to run blindfolded in traffic.
Nicola is our modern day Venus and Aphrodite.
In episode 5 during a very intimate scene, Penelope(Nicola) is positioned in a way that mirrors the famous Venus de Milo.
The creative directors and photographer did an outstanding job truly highlighting how seductive, soft, and feminine Nicola looks. Despite the negative comments, Nicola exemplifies resilience through her radiant confidence and poise. She looks almost as though she is a muse painted on a canvas. The imagery automatically reminded me of Renaissance paintings and paintings that were created during the Pre-Raphaelite era in Europe during the 1800s. Edouard Bisson, (a French Pre-Raphaelite painter) painted many beautiful pieces of women in whimsical, romantic settings. His work focused on emphasizing feminine beauty as most of his paintings depicted women in nature and used soft color palettes. I think the directors also grabbed inspiration from Nicola’s photoshoot from the theme of Colin and Penelope’s story which has multiple references to Greek mythology. In Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, Colin compares Penolope to Aphrodite and I get those vibes from the photos from this campaign.
The feedback from the content from this campaign has been exceedingly well. If I were to have any feedback on the campaign I would only suggest a short video with the same visuals that stars Nicola talking about having confidence in her curves and how empowering it’s been to show off her amazing body for others with similar body types to connect to. As she’s mentioned in many interviews during her press tour, SKIMS could isolate that message on their campaign with Nicola to resonate with SKIMS's curvier demographic.
Brands have the power to advocate and make statements even while pushing a product. Keeping the essence of your brand while also appealing to specific groups in your target audience doesn’t have to be aggressive. Another key point is the emphasis on intentionality and knowing how to merge your brand with outside influences to create a well-executed campaign.
The last takeaways are that Nicola Coughlan is perfect, all bodies are beautiful, and diversity matters. The end.
