Kim Kardashian’s ‘power nipple’ bra is the stuff of women’s nightmares

Plus why we should all be concerned about the rise of fast fashion giants Shein

1 November 2023 I've been thinking about boobs a lot this week. This is mainly because Kim Kardashian has launched her latest lingerie contraption via her $4bn shapewear brand Skims. This time…drumroll please… for just £53, you can have permanently perky, cold-looking breasts with her new "built-in nipple" bra! In the launch video for the "Ultimate Nipple Bra", we see the 43-year-old tapping away at a computer in some kind of soft-porn schoolteacher roleplay while she rather eerily announces that the Earth's temperature is getting "hotter and hotter" and the "ice sheets are melting". In what also feels like a Saturday Night Live skit, KK then pulls out a pointy wooden stick and talks us through a diagram of the new bra, as the reality TV star tells us: "No matter how hot it is, you'll always look cold. Some days are hard, but these nipples are harder... and unlike the icebergs, these [nipples] aren't going anywhere." It does feel like another eye-roll moment from the KUWTK clan. To me, this release feels as though KK is somehow co-opting the free the nipple movement – a campaign to embrace natural, bra-less breasts without stigma or judgement – but instead crafting a bra that gives us artificial bullet boobs. I wonder about how my impressionable teenage self would have received this advert. And to be frank, I would probably have been begging my parents for the "Ultimate Nipple Bra" for Christmas – and that's quite a frightening thought. Oh, and the irony of it all? Skims has said it's making a "one-time donation" of 10 per cent of sales from the bra to the environmental organisation One Percent for the Planet. Something doesn't sit right.  Fleur Britten writes about how the bra is the least feminist product you could possibly bring to the market here. Elsewhere in rather unnerving fashion news, Olivia Petter argues that the rise of fast fashion juggernaut Shein should concern us all, as the brand has announced it has newly acquired fast fashion retailer Missguided. On a more positive note, Laura Craik looks at the beauty of Phoebe Philo's much hyped eponymous brand launch. Philo is the former creative director of Céline and Chloé and this collection has been anticipated for two years now, and the 150-piece collection has already sold out.  Meanwhile, my departed colleague Kate Ng – formerly the author of this newsletter – is back freelancing for the lifestyle desk again (hooray!). As new research suggests diners find complex menus intimidating, Kate, who is an expert in all things food by now, writes that restaurant menus are ruining the dining experience and if your menu isn't only accessible via QR code, it's probably filled with obscure words that only graduates of Le Cordon Bleu will recognise.  That's enough to chew on for now! Until next time, EM Shein is the fast fashion juggernaut that's only getting bigger – its rise should concern us all The Chinese-founded retailer sells entire outfits for less than £10 and has for years infuriated climate campaigners. Now its continued global expansion – which includes its new acquisition of the Missguided brand – looks set to cripple any progress already made to combat fast fashion, writes Olivia Petter Chandler and Monica taught me everything I need to know about love Matthew Perry's 'Friends' character brought the world joy and laughter, and mirrored our insecurities and anxieties. But he also made me think about relationships in a different way, writes Ellie Harrison Restaurant menus are ruining eating out: 'They're supposed to seduce you, not humiliate you' If your menu isn't only accessible via QR code, it's probably filled with obscure words that only graduates of Le Cordon Bleu will recognise. As new research suggests diners find complex menus intimidating, Kate Ng asks industry experts whether this particular annoying trend is here to stay It's 'Phoebe Philo' day – here's why fashion fans are so excited Since announcing she was starting her own label, women have been waiting for Phoebe Philo's collection to land. Two years later, it is nearly here and Laura Craik couldn't be more excited (here's why you should be too) The home brands you didn't know you could shop at Amazon, from Ikea to The White Company.  Trending: Scented candles Our shopping beauty editor says Medik8's C-tetra vitamin C serum is the one skincare product you need for brighter, healthier skin.  In case you missed it... Rise of the trout pout teens: How thousands of under-18s fell for Botox and filler As reports suggest English teenagers are travelling to Wales and Scotland to get around a ban on non-surgical cosmetic tweaking, Olivia Petter speaks to experts about what might be causing the terrifying boom in underage injectables   How the woo-woo world of womb whispering opened me up to the idea of having children Natural sceptic Helen Coffey made it through the inner goddesses and masturbation gaffes of a 'sacral healing' workshop to find a safe space where women can process life's biggest traumas and questions   INDYBEST / BEST BUYS The search for the perfect winter coat is over. From leather to faux fur and black longline styles, we've rounded up the best options for 2023. 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