Kim Kardashian’s $148 pierced nipple bra is not a stunt – it’s empowerment

Kim Kardashian’s Skims clothing brand announced a new product last month, and it’s pretty wild. The “pierced nipple bra” has fabric nipples pierced with a barbell so that, under a close-fitting shirt, it appears the wearer has very cold, prominent – and pierced – nipples. Skims’ Instagram explained: “Our sexiest bra gets even hotter with faux nipple piercing design so you can get the ‘Ooo’ without the ouch!”

Following the marketing success of the original “nipple bra” in 2023, this version has already garnered awe, cringe, and bewilderment. You’ve got to acknowledge Kardashian’s prowess for seeing a gap in the market, filling it, and then piercing it.

Skims, co-owned by Kim Kardashian, has continued to push boundaries with its pierced nipple bra.

At $148, this is an investment bra for those likely to show it off on their socials rather than being an everyday basic. Like a Guerlain perfume, or Chanel sunglasses, it makes a statement about your school of style.

What kind of statement does it make? While the average reader of this masthead would likely not wear skin-tight crop tops that bare their (seemingly highly aroused) nipples for a casual day out, it’s no longer taboo (if a walk through Fitzroy is any indication) to go braless or expose underboob. In urban Australia – as much as Los Angeles, Berlin or London – porn, music videos, fashion advertisements, and reality TV now coexist in an “anything goes” era. Women should have every right to modify our bodies and dress as we want, but we don’t have the luxury of taking our choices for granted when men are still advocating for MAGA-inspired “tradwives”, the US Vice President J.D. Vance says women should stay in violent marriages to keep their families together and, according to a Harvard Institute poll from last year, 46 per cent of young Republicans believe “women are too promiscuous these days”.

You might scoff at the idea that Kardashian, an influencer and billionaire, is waving a feminist flag with a fake pierced nipple bra. But it fits perfectly with her push for women’s autonomy and empowerment through products that occasionally provoke but also appeal to women’s aesthetic and desire for comfort. Male designers have long commodified women’s bodies with ill-fitting tat, so the argument that she’s exploiting her name for profit doesn’t wash with me.

Yes, her advertisements are heavily airbrushed and her clothing is unaffordable for many of her followers, but Kardashian built her wealth through Skims (worth approximately $US4 billion) and other savvy investments, by serving women first. In March, she told Vogue Business that it matters to her to have shapewear and lingerie that cater to a broad range of body shapes, sizes (Skims go up to the equivalent of Australian sizes 20/22), skin shades and styles. These sculpted bras are not a mere novelty – the nipple bra was embraced by women who’d had a mastectomy, too. Kardashian built this empire all while completing six years of legal studies and advocating for criminal justice reform.

At 44, Kardashian refuses to follow the safe marketing route in showcasing Skims lingerie only on 20-something, skinny, white girls. Her models are diverse, and her grey, brown and beige designs are not created predominantly for the male gaze, but for women’s comfort. That’s radical in itself.

So, to the pierced nipples. This bra design is close to my heart (boom, tish!) because in my late teens, nipple piercings were a trend among the cool girls in university. I didn’t dare. Then, about six years ago, when the cool girls of Hollywood (Kendall, Miley, Bella Hadid, etc) were all baring their pierced nipples in paparazzi photos, I decided to join the crew.

“You’ll want to die for about two seconds, then kill me, then you’ll be fine,” my piercer said. I nearly fainted and screamed. Then she said, “do you want to do the other one?” and because I am all about symmetry, I said “yes, do it before I think about it too much.”

I didn’t do it for anyone else. I did it for the joy of having a secret, only known to my body (my bra), and me. I did it to claim my body and its most vulnerable parts as my domains to pierce or modify however I want. Perhaps, much in the spirit of Kardashian’s choices to modify her own appearance.

I view this bra design as sexy and daring – it makes a fashion statement without suffering or risk of infection. At a time when it feels like women’s bodily autonomy is being reversed, it’s powerful to say: “This is my body, and I’m going to be as sexually provocative and liberated as I want to be.” And if you want to get an actual nipple piercing? Remember, two seconds and you’ll be fine.

Cat Woods is a Melbourne writer, and a Pilates and yoga teacher.