KEEPING UP

Khloe Kardashian Talks Regaining Her Confidence Post-Baby, and Her Sisters’ Input On Her New Athletic Collection

She opens up about what makes her look good and feel secure, especially post-baby.

Aug. 2, 2018

We all know that Khloe Kardashian is obsessed with working out. It’s on her Snapchat, her Instagram, her app, and, of course, her family’s reality show, Keeping Up With the Kardashians, where many a serious conversation goes down in between reps during a personal trainer session. So, in true Kardashian form, she’s taken her passion and made it lucrative—in this case, an athletic wear collection for her fashion company Good American, which she co-founded with Emma Grede in 2016. While Good American is known for their inclusive denim line, as of today, performance is officially part of its repertoire, as well, with the launch of a 22-piece athletic collection of tops, bras, leggings, hoodies, jackets, and jumpsuits. Here, Kardashian talks about the new collection, her post-baby workout plan, and what input her sisters have on her design process.

How long have you been working on this athleisure collection?

For athletic wear, it really was a natural progression for Emma and myself. My passion is working out, as corny as that sounds. I love it. It’s really for my mental health; it gives me mental sanity and clarity. I love that you are able to take control over your body. How much work you put in is what you get out of it. So, athletic wear was a natural progression for us and the brand. Good American is only two years old, such a baby company, but with that being said, we actually started the athletic collection over a year ago. Our biggest thing for Good American is fit, and we have a wide range from XS to XXXL, and to get that fit right on different women is really hard. There are a lot of technical aspects that go into it.

The first couple rounds were so horrible and the fit was so bad that we just scrapped it every time. But that’s what you have to do to have something that you stand behind. I know that I am proud of my line on someone who is an XS and someone who is an XXXL. I test the products on all different women; we don’t just text products on machines, like a lot of huge multi-million dollar companies do. I was so shocked when I found out that a lot of big names in the fashion world test their products on machines. I was like, “Why wouldn’t they test them on females and do the squat test to see if everything is concealed and hiding?” So for us, the biggest thing was taking the time to make sure the fit was right.

How did your design approach differ from making denim?

For denim, it’s a totally different pattern and a fabric that you’re playing with; so many different elements involved. For workout stuff, if you’re lunging or squatting, you want to make sure that your booty is not showing. You’re at your most vulnerable working out, in my opinion. Especially having a baby, I don’t feel as secure with my stomach, or my butt has gained so much weight. I want to feel that if I’m at the gym and I’m trying to lose the weight and in this vulnerable place, that I still feel sucked in and supported and that I look good from behind. When someone’s buying a pair of leggings, as silly as this sounds, they are really trusting you with that. I have bought leggings and felt really good in them and—this isn’t a very relatable problem—then I’ve had paparazzi take pictures of me and my whole ass is showing and I’m mortified. I’m not wearing leggings so my ass can show. These are all things that I take into consideration, and it is very different from denim.

What were your goals going into this collection?

I just want women to feel really good. If you’re starting this fitness journey, or continuing, for me, if I look good, I want to go to the gym and I want to work out harder. I wanted to make sure that the clothing fit really well. My goal was, “God, how great would it be if someone that’s an XS feels super confident in these leggings, and then someone who is an XXXL feels the exact same.” That was something that meant a lot to me: body confidence for women of all shapes.

What do you look for in your athletic wear?

I personally love a high-waisted pant. I never have really bought anything low-waisted. When you’re working out, especially if you’re doing abs or sitting down, with those cupcake or love handles that you might have, you still want to feel like you’re sucked in and supported. Nowadays, people wear workout clothes from the gym to when you’re wearing errands or you want to go to brunch, or if you’re lying and saying you’re working out when you’re really not. You just want to look cute. I want athletic wear where I still feel kind of sexy in and don’t care who I run into.

Your family are big athleisure enthusiasts. Is this collection meant to be worn outside of the gym, as well?

Totally. We have a great catsuit that you can work out in—I love to wear a catsuit to workout in, I think it’s very sexy—and if I have a leather jacket in my car, I can throw it on and go to lunch. But nowadays, we are so social media focused that even if you’re not going somewhere, you still want to look really cute because people are snapping their workouts. Even 10 years ago, it was more frumpy, like your boyfriend’s t-shirt. Now people are really cute from head-to-toe. I love the effort that is being put into your workout these days.

What do you think about the bike shorts trend that seems to be all the rage this summer?

I wasn’t really into it at first; I was pregnant, so maybe I was envious, but now that I’m not pregnant and my body is not where I’m comfortable with, I love the bike shorts. They’re comfortable, they support you, they suck you in. And it’s still stretchy pants.

Did you sisters give in any input in the new collection?

I gave everyone stuff to try on and wear. And I love Kourtney, but everything is already in production and the launch is tomorrow, and she sent me a note last week about something. I was like, “You f—ing asshole, I sent you this stuff like six months ago and you’re giving me a note now? Thank you, but this does nothing for me.”

But I appreciate that for later, and we always say that we’re a social media brand, so I love when consumers give us tips about things that they love or what isn’t working for them. We test on so many different shapes and sizes, but thats still not everyone. I love the power of social media. Constructive criticism I’m all for.

Do you take your sisters’ individual styles into consideration when designing?

I think subconsciously that just naturally happens. With denim, I think a lot about Kendall. I know I like a high-waisted skinny leg, and sometimes I don’t get out of my niche in the denim world. But Kendall is just so stylish and dope and universal and will try anything and it looks good. So I pull a lot of denim references from Kendall. For workout stuff, this first collection is very simple because for the launch I wanted classic pieces that you can mix and match. But definitely for later drops you’ll get a little more personality where I’m thinking of specific sisters.

What is your current workout schedule looking like since becoming a mom?

It’s really challenging to figure out a workout routine with a new baby. I’m very blessed that my baby sleeps well, so when she’s napping, I try to work out during her nap. I made a little gym in my garage, so I bring the baby monitor to the garage and try to get my workout in in the morning. I will never work out if its past 11 a.m. It is very challenging. It’s great, but it takes a minute to find your routine and your rhythm again.