• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
MPWMost Powerful Women

Khloe Kardashian: Being Shamed for My Curves Inspired My New Denim Line

Kristen Bellstrom
By
Kristen Bellstrom
Kristen Bellstrom
Down Arrow Button Icon
Kristen Bellstrom
By
Kristen Bellstrom
Kristen Bellstrom
Down Arrow Button Icon
November 29, 2016, 9:53 PM ET

Don’t try calling Khloe Kardashian plus-sized.

“F–k that. I don’t want to be called that—I’m a woman with curves,” said the reality TV star, speaking at Fortune‘s Most Powerful Women Next Gen conference in Laguna Niguel, Calif. on Tuesday.

Kardashian is the co-founder of Good American, a denim line offering sizes ranging from 00 to 24. She says that the brand, which launched in October this year, was partially inspired by her experiences shopping with Kim Kardashian and her other famous sisters.

Before losing weight, Kardashian, whose transformation is the subject of an E! show titled Revenge Body with Khloe Kardashian, said she was “embarrassed to go shopping with my sisters, who are petite”—mostly because clerks in many high-end boutiques were condescending about her size.

Subscribe to the Broadsheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter on the world’s most powerful women.

She wants Good American to cater to women of all body shapes and sizes. “I remember the chubby girl in me and I’m fighting for my chubby self,” she says.

“Like a lot of good business ideas, you have to start with a problem,” added Kardashian’s business partner, Emma Grede. The way department stores treat plus-size women is one such problem: “The sizes stop at a 12, but the average woman is a 16.”

Kardashian’s passion about the issue is one key reason she decided to partner with Grede, she said, acknowledging that she—and other members of her famous family—have made business mistakes in the past.

“At first, you take on a lot of things that aren’t really authentic and true to you—because you’re young and excited,” said Kardashian.

Over the years, she says she’s learned that in order to make a business work, “you have to do something that [is] really authentic to you—something that you want to breathe, to live, to dream about.”

The pair were also insistent that the denim would be made in the U.S., by workers paid what they describe as “a fair wage.” Indeed, the brand’s name—Good American—is a nod to those values.

“We wanted to the company to behave like a good American,” said Grede. “To treat our workers how we would want to be treated.”

Though the brand is just a few months old, the partners already have their eyes on an expansion. Kardashian said that Good American may eventually add a men’s or children’s line, though for now: “I’m just excited to see where it goes.”

About the Author
Kristen Bellstrom
By Kristen Bellstrom
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in MPW

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in MPW

NewslettersMPW Daily
Can Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In take on tradwives and the manosphere?
By Emma HinchliffeMarch 27, 2026
19 hours ago
MPWMost Powerful Women
Influencer Alix Earle turned her worst insecurity into her first brand. This is her plan to monetize her 14 million followers and make it last
By Emma HinchliffeMarch 26, 2026
2 days ago
MagazineCentene
The youngest-ever female CEO of a Fortune 500 company is fighting Trump’s cuts to keep Medicaid strong
By Diane BradyMarch 24, 2026
4 days ago
AsiaPepsiCo
Three Asias, three different playbooks: How PepsiCo’s Anne Tse views the world’s fastest-growing snack market
By Nicholas GordonMarch 20, 2026
8 days ago
NewslettersMPW Daily
Inside one CEO’s battle to get a tariff refund: ‘We did take a beat to consider the best path’
By Claire ZillmanMarch 18, 2026
10 days ago
NewslettersMPW Daily
Hinge is growing while online dating competitors are struggling. Its new CEO explains why
By Ellie AustinMarch 17, 2026
11 days ago

Most Popular

Success
Meetings are not work, says Southwest Airlines CEO—and he’s taking action by blocking his calendar every afternoon from Wednesday to Friday 
By Fortune EditorsMarch 27, 2026
1 day ago
AI
Exclusive: Anthropic acknowledges testing new AI model representing ‘step change’ in capabilities, after accidental data leak reveals its existence
By Fortune EditorsMarch 26, 2026
1 day ago
Personal Finance
Current price of gold as of March 27, 2026
By Fortune EditorsMarch 27, 2026
21 hours ago
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Friday, March 27, 2026
By Fortune EditorsMarch 27, 2026
22 hours ago
AI
Exclusive: Anthropic left details of an unreleased model, invite-only CEO retreat, sitting in an unsecured data trove in a significant security lapse
By Fortune EditorsMarch 26, 2026
1 day ago
Commentary
The Treasury just declared the U.S. insolvent. The media missed it
By Fortune EditorsMarch 23, 2026
5 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.