NikeSkims Found Its Moment and Lisa Was the Perfect Choice

NikeSkims just did something that finally makes the partnership click. For its Spring ’26 campaign, Nike × SKIMS put Lisa front and center and the internet is paying attention. This isn’t just another celebrity campaign. It’s a cultural repositioning.

Why This Campaign Works

Nike is a legacy brand. It doesn’t need more credibility in performance, it needs cultural relevance. SKIMS, on the other hand, is fluent in it-girl energy, femininity, and modern athleisure.

Lisa sits exactly at the intersection of both worlds:

• globally influential

• effortlessly cool

• athletic, feminine, and fashion-forward

She makes NikeSkims feel less like “gym wear” and more like movement as self-expression.

And that’s the shift.

Show, Don’t Tell (Nike Finally Did It)

Instead of over-explaining the product, the campaign lets movement do the talking.

Directed by Sergio Reis (the choreographer behind Gap’s viral Troye Sivan campaign), the film shows Lisa dancing alongside professional ballerinas: graceful, controlled, powerful. We’re not being told what the product does. We’re watching how it moves.

This is a clear departure from Nike’s traditional “Just Do It” gym-core messaging. It’s softer, more expressive, more feminine, without losing performance credibility. Exactly what NikeSkims needed.

The Bigger Strategy at Play

This campaign lands at a critical moment for Nike.

The company is mid-turnaround, shifting its marketing focus back to performance through a strategy it calls “Sport Offense.” NikeSkims plays a key role here: performance athleisure designed specifically for women, positioned through culture instead of competition.

It’s also worth noting: NikeSkims isn’t a limited collab. It’s the first entirely new brand Nike has launched with an external partner, and this campaign signals where they want it to go.

Pophaus Take

When managing your UGC creators ensure you give guidelines and communicate your vision effectively to ensure the content being produced is on brand and will resonate with your ideal costumers.