Credits: Metro

You too saw Kourtney Kardashian and her friend Megan Fox's Skims Campaign, right? The pictures blew off the internet with so much praise and love supporting the two mothers, their 'perfect' bodies, and appreciation of the shapewear brand Skims by Kim Kardashian itself. The pictures showed the 42-year-old reality TV star and 35-year-old actress in an embrace in the Skims shapewear. 

The Hollywood magazines collectively lost their minds and built on praises for the photoshoot, the progressive take on the beauty of the two mothers who can feel themselves even after going through birth and how nicely they were made up. But isn't that all to it? The Kardashians have built years' worth of fame, popularity, and fortune only based on their looks and seductive silhouettes, which they then pack into boxes of shapewear, lip kits, makeup kits, and swimwear. Then they sell the image to people who aspire to look like them. In fact, the whole standard of beauty and hotness in America is currently based on the Kardashian family. 

Regardless, esteemed magazines like Cosmopolitan had a few words to appreciate the Kim Kardashian-owned brand and especially the Kourtney and Megan Fox photoshoot. The magazine exclaimed, "look so good … wow." And then there are also the established style industry leaders, whose words are the verdict. And they, too, were nothing short of in awe for the Skims campaign. Despite the fact that pictures are actually great to look at, what is crucially missing from the commentary that the campaign garnered is that the shapewear alone isn't something that could create the beauty of such standards. And to be frank, the shapewear in itself is problematic. 

What the brand sells

Besides the fact that everyone is free to do whatever they want to do with their bodies as they please, selling that particular image to countless people who struggle with body image issues as something that can be achieved with shapewear is questionable. Yes, the campaign looked all sorts of pretty, and the artists behind the underwear designs, set production, photographers, and stylists did an excellent job and needed to be appreciated. 

Credits: Forbes 

But what people don't tend to acknowledge is that the Kardashian bodies are repeatedly made subject to body augmentation, and those beauty standards are certainly not achievable by the common folk. And now that a brand owned by someone who is not ready to accept the external help they take for beautifying their body is trying to fit people into the model of fixed shapewear. This means conversations about the ridiculous perceptions are due at a large scale. 

Because it is not just the one modeled body shape that they are selling. It is the particular notion that a simple underwear set can help people get an accentuated, full waist and impossibly narrow waist, of course, conceded by large breasts. However, in reality, the Kardashians are actually known to have undergone far lengthy procedures for those Instagram-worthy curves.

All billboards and advertisements dealing with Skims show women, only sometimes in varying sizes, wearing the shapewear that draws attention to their cinched waists and flaring hips. The ultimate Kardashian image. And that particular image has drawn in the US $1 billion and is valued as one of the richest shapewear brands. 

But it isn't only Skims that deal with delusional perceptions of something. Her sister Kylie deals off with a similar product that has been long since duping women into believing that her lip kits, in particular, can help people achieve a pout like hers. Apart from their own makeup brand, lip kits, and shapewear, the Kardashians are usually questioned on their controversial behavior for promoting slimming teas, vitamin supplements, and waist trainers, which tend to worsen body image issues in people, especially women. 

The worst of the problem is when high-end magazines that cater to countless women worldwide from varying genetic pools and with beautiful features that are different yet enchanting make them believe that their features need some enhancement. Many women tend to grow beliefs that their bodies are lesser and shapewear would magically grow curves or reduce their waistline. 

How beauty ideals are constructed

Beauty in times of today is more related to social privilege than a set of genes that would bestow you with a nice build and face. Now that people are so connected to their phones and their social media handles, the only beauty standard prevalent and seen on all feeds is the Kardashian-esque figures. Of course, it is produced through specific body posturing and alterations. You can see countless tutorials to posture how you stand or sit and then obtain shots to mimic the Kardashian figure. 

Then there are the body and face contouring tutorials to sculpt a body of your dreams, all taking after the image shown by the Kardashian sisters. And yet, the family continues to deny that they are a strong influence determining how people see and present themselves. 

Credits: Totally Vegan buzz 

Presenting a solve-all solution to such an audience that gives them a snatched waist, a curvaceous yet flat look where it matters, or big hips obviously sells off like crazy. The reality is that the shapewear or the lip kits are not the reasons for the family's infamous silhouettes, but that part is generally cut off from conversations and reviews. 

All that is left is a shapewear brand that can induce sales by claiming that they sell an all-inclusive product with various skin tone shades and sizes ranging upto 5X. And, yet in the end, what it aspires to is to conform people into a similar shape, no different and individual than the next.