The hire of the Ami Colé founder signals Skims’ pivot into a full-scale beauty business, aligning with the industry’s shift toward inclusive, founder-led product leadership
Skims has named Diarrha N’Diaye, founder of beauty label Ami Colé, as Executive Vice President of Beauty & Fragrance, effective immediately. This move comes as the Kim Kardashian-co-founded brand prepares to expand its product scope beyond loungewear into makeup and fragrance, with N’Diaye tasked with leading product development, innovation, and brand strategy. What’s new is the elevation of beauty as a core pillar for Skims; what’s at stake is its ability to compete in a crowded prestige beauty market and convert fashion-brand equity into a meaningful beauty business.
N’Diaye brings to the role a background of brand founding and senior roles at the likes of Glossier, L’Oréal Paris, and Rebecca Minkoff, positioning her as a rare executive with both operational and entrepreneurial experience in the beauty industry. The appointment follows Skims’ earlier consolidation of SKKN by Kim under its umbrella, demonstrating how contemporary fashion brands are increasingly embedding culture-driven beauty evolution into their growth strategies.
Strategically, Skims’ decision to install a founder-executive from a celebrated inclusive beauty brand reflects a broader trend: prestige labels are recognizing that product leadership, particularly driven by market-diverse voices, is now vital to building credibility in beauty. In appointing N’Diaye, Skims signals that it intends to move beyond celebrity-led gloss into product-first depth. As the brand readies its beauty launch, the success of this venture may redefine whether the Skims name can scale beyond shapewear into a broader lifestyle beauty ecosystem.