Take one quick look at Bianca Censori’s Instagram account and you’d be forgiven for thinking it belonged to another woman entirely. Petite, brunette, and with striking doll-like features, the 30-year-old Australian model bears such a striking resemblance to Kim Kardashian that it almost makes you want to ask her to double-check that she is actually a different person.
The likeness between the two women has been part of the cultural discourse ever since Censori started dating her now-husband, Kanye West, who was previously married to Kardashian for seven years.
Since then, the couple has been a lightning rod for online outrage, mostly thanks to Censori’s numerous barely-there outfits – there was the pillow she carried to cover her breasts, the sheer poncho she wore with nothing underneath, and in February, there was the skin-tight, completely see-through dress at the Grammys that essentially rendered her completely nude on the red carpet.
Much of this has sparked concern, not least because Censori almost never speaks in public. Is she happy and safe? Are her wild outfits part of a controlling plan concocted by West? Is he trying to morph her into a Kardashian clone?
We’ll probably never know. But this week, the conversation took a different turn as Censori teased the launch of her upcoming lingerie brand on Instagram. Not only was she suddenly more covered up than we have seen her in years, but if the photos are anything to go by, she is now making a play for Kim’s hugely successful underwear and shapewear brand SKIMS.
On Sunday, Censori posted six photos of herself posing in different lingerie sets, comprising tights, knickers, and what look like full coverage, maternity-inspired bras. In the caption, Censori simply tagged Marc Jacobs, teasing a potential collaboration, although the US-based fashion brand, for which Kardashian has previously modelled, has confirmed to The Independent that they are not working with Censori. Still, the images did what they were intended to. They have got people gawping and talking.
Since launching SKIMS in 2018, Kardashian has become synonymous with the rising bodywear-as-outerwear trend. The brand is hugely successful, earning a $4bn (£3.04bn) valuation earlier this year and partnering with a roster of high-profile celebrities, with everyone from Sabrina Carpenter to Kate Moss fronting its campaigns.
If Censori really is launching a label whose hero products are lingerie-based, it’s almost impossible not to see this as a land grab. But who is behind it? Could it be just another attempt from West to compete with his ex-wife, like everything else Censori seems to do?
The bras themselves are, at least, quite different from those sold by SKIMS. With full coverage and satin vintage-looking, torpedo designs, think Madonna meets breastfeeding. It’s hardly the kind of garment you’d expect from Censori, given her history of mostly sheer, somewhat nonexistent outfits. We’ll surely find out more on 11 December when the full launch is unveiled. .
The style set has already agreed that these bras are not meant to be worn underneath clothes. They are tops in their own right. Like crop tops, only they’ve been cropped a little more. Likewise, for the tights, which Censori has previously been seen wearing without any underwear at all. It is certainly tapping into the trend of investing in standout pieces of lingerie.
No longer reserved to its utilitarian roots, bras have become a staple wardrobe item in recent months, one that is to be displayed rather than hidden away. In August, British Vogue declared bras “the unexpected styling hero of 2025”, citing references such as Doechii, who wore a Vivienne Westwood silk bra and mini skirt to perform at Glastonbury. Charli XCX also sang her set in a custom bra by McQueen. Then there’s Addison Rae, who performed at The Box in Soho over the summer in a scalloped yellow bra with matching knickers from Agent Provocateur.
“We always make sure our bras can be worn to be seen, under jackets or tops, or on their own,” says Lucy Litwack, CEO at lingerie label, Coco de Mer. “And we see women of all ages sporting this trend. It’s a more modern version of the ‘underwear as outerwear’ look, with bras being more thoughtfully incorporated into outfits with matching skirts or other items so that it becomes a seamless part of your look.”
The model Alva Claire, who frequently wears visible bras, concurred in an interview with Vogue. “I love wearing undergarments as outer garments, whether it’s a slip or a bra. I think it makes me feel powerful and like…‘whatever’,” she said. “It’s quite experimental – especially when I wear a bra top with something that I’d wear outside, like jeans or my Comme [des Garçons] skirt. It creates this really beautiful language between inside and outside clothes. I think that’s what I enjoy, always finding an element of… surprise, I guess.”
In terms of the other names making waves for their statement bras, Censori would be competing with behemoths like Dolce & Gabbana and Miu Miu, whose satin cone bra (£750 a pop) went viral over the summer. And yes, she would also also be competing with SKIMS, which makes every type of bra you could think of, including full coverage ones that aren’t totally dissimilar from those that Censori was photographed wearing.
So, is Censori set to become the next big bodywear billionaire? Was this all part of a calculated ruse for West to get his final revenge? We’ll have to wait until 11 December to find out.
