Are butts back? Why Kim Kardashian and her Skims Ultimate Butt collection are banking on a plastic surgery trend. - chof 360 news

Kim Kardashian has deemed herself the “Fairy Butt Mother” in a new Skims campaign video, cementing her role in the latest trend of body contouring with a new shapewear line called “The Ultimate Butt.”

The lifestyle mogul announced her latest product line on Feb. 11, with a witty campaign video where she finds a woman unmotivated to work out. “I know, I know. I should stand up. I should work for the body that I want,” the woman says, rambling off her frustrations over not seeing results from her efforts to appear more sculpted. Kardashian tells her that it doesn’t have to be so hard.

“With Skims’ new shapewear, you can get a butt, boobs and amazing curves immediately,” Kardashian says in the commercial. She then waves her wand to magically place the brand’s new “push-up butt enhancing padded mid-thigh bodysuit” onto the young woman, who is immediately impressed by her augmented physique.

It begs the question: Whatever happened to the supposed end of the Brazilian buttlift (BBL) era and slim-thick aesthetic with the ushering in of the ballet body? Experts say those enhancements never went away — they just evolved, as have the Kardashians.

“We call it Kardashian 2.0,” Dr. Kristy Hamilton, a Texas-based surgeon with the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, tells chof360 Life of the updated style of butt implants that patients still ask for. “Basically, [it’s] the newer version of [the sisters’s bodies] where they’re more toned up and athletic because they all kind of slimmed down.”

So what is this new line of enhancing shapewear accomplishing? According to Hamilton and other plastic surgeons, it’s something like the latest iterations of BBLs, which emphasize the buttock’s shape more than its size.

What is the ultimate butt?

According to Skims, the ideal butt is lifted and rounded. But the brand’s “Ultimate Butt” line goes beyond that. Shorts, leggings and bodysuits with built-in butt pads are the foundation of the latest collection, but there’s also a new balconette push-up bra that promises a breast lift and new shapewear pieces that promise to reduce a wearer’s waist by 2 inches.

The line is meant to offer “a one-stop shop to achieve the bootylicious curves of your dreams,” according to a press release. And despite reports on the trend of smaller butts, the desire to attain one that is marginally enhanced has never gone away.

The latest ASPS Plastic Surgery Statistics Report shows that buttock implants and lifts each saw a 6% increase between 2022 and 2023, while BBLs — a butt augmentation that uses fat from a different part of the body — specifically increased by 3% year over year. Those numbers aren’t big. However Dr. Arnold Breitbart, head plastic surgeon at New York Liposuction Center, tells chof360 Life that they indicate a stable appeal.

“People’s interest in enhancing their backside never really faded, but trends definitely cycle,” he says. “Even as the trends lean more toward a more toned, athletic look, a lifted, round backside remains a highly sought-after feature.”

Where do the trends come from?

Experts say that what’s popular in fashion and culture influences how people want their figures to look. “The return of Y2K fashion, with low-rise jeans and body-conscious silhouettes, has brought renewed attention to the shape of the buttocks,” says Breitbart.

An emphasis on weight loss that has come with the rise of GLP-1s might also play a role in people feeling they need to invest in something that will provide some lift. Some people use plastic surgery for that, while others may rely on simpler solutions such as shapewear like Skims.

“People are shedding weight and so we’re doing a lot more body contouring procedures to kind of reveal that inner shape that got lost in the sea of extra skin,” says Hamilton. “Considering how much Ozempic is being used right now, I could see that some people may be feeling like perhaps they lost too much volume. Maybe they’re looking for some padded shapewear to help them with that if they’re not ready for surgery or maybe that’s out of budget.”

Skims’s new offerings promise to “add up to 2 inches of volume to your butt,” while providing “instant lifting and rounding results.” This is not dissimilar to a plastic surgery procedure called the “Miami thong lift” that’s been gaining popularity as well.

With the Miami thong lift, “you get this kind of peachy look so that [the butt appears] more athletic,” says Hamilton. “It's not a volume procedure; it is a tightening procedure.” She believes that “The Ultimate Butt” line might be intended to do the same. “The aesthetic has really shifted to something that looks much more like it could be found in nature as compared to how it was before.”

Who might the new Skims line appeal to?

While plastic surgery trends change over time, Kardashian’s brand is banking on the fact that people might be looking for a reasonable and nonsurgical way to participate.

However, Dr. David Shokrian of Millennial Plastic Surgery in New York, questions who in particular the “The Ultimate Butt” line will appeal to. “I believe Kim Kardashian is trying to make a final attempt to profit off a trend that’s already fading,” he tells chof360 Life, while noting that celebrity influence does ultimately affect butt enhancement trends.

“She’s definitely got appeal,” says Hamilton. “To me, it’s the sculpting element that people really love.” Whether people will want to wear extra cushioning to achieve that look, however, is up for debate. “We’ll see if the padded butts are still where it’s at,” she says.