BL8K Talks: Rent Club Paris; Hotter Style & Cooler Planet
Parisian chic but make it sustainable. Rent Club Paris just gave us a guilt-free card to buy more fashion. Yes, you read that right. More fashion. I know the concepts of sustainability and “more fashion” almost never get along, but impossible n’est pas français.
Photo: Rent Club Paris
Welcome to the fashion revolution that has a clear mission in mind and execution: make your style hotter and the planet cooler. Freja Settergen, (@frejasettergen), Swedish fashion entrepreneur and co-founder of Rent Club Paris is making fashion girlies dreams come true.
Have you ever imagined yourself walking down Rue de Rivoli wearing a vintage Glossy Chanel Bag and the most gorgeous Robe Ester Manas ruffle cut-out dress? Now you absolutely can! Step aside Emily in Paris, Rent Club Paris girls are taking over.
So, let’s get into the real question I know you are all asking. How is getting more clothes sustainable? Well, Swedish vintage collector and fashion enthusiast, Freja Settergen, is on a mission to make your Paris fashion fantasies come true. It’s quite simple really. You go to the Rent Club Paris app, select your favorite outfit, place an order and in a few movements your pieces will be delivered by bike to wherever you are in Paris. The perfect solution to looking incredible for any event, special occasion or weekend getaway.
Photo: Rent Club Paris
How did you come up with the idea of Rent Club Paris?
“I started Rent Club Paris because I found the same thing in Stockholm but couldn’t find a company similar in Paris with the styles I liked. I am a little bit of a collector myself, I love finding pieces and I realized I have a good eye for spotting things that are or will become in demand. I had a lot of those pieces and thought they would be the perfect fit for the rental business I had in mind.”
So the idea and pho,Sophi behind the brand were quickly established, then how did it come to live?
“I started looking for people who wanted to be a part of a really cool fashion and sustainability project. I was looking for people who knew how to code, so I posted on Instagram that I was looking for help and the second girl who texted me we hit it up instantly. We immediately met for coffee with her boyfriend at a café and got to talking. Turns out she lives 5 minutes from me! He, the boyfriend, was going to do the backing and her the front of the app or something like that (‘laughing at how little we know about coding). It was great.”
The Rent Club Paris family started to grow!
“Yes! I didn’t have any money to pay them so they became co-founders. She was looking to get into fashion and do coding as well so the universe really did its thing and helped us find each other. We started working and the app was done in the next 4 coming months as they both were also working full time jobs. So while they took care of the coding I focused on sourcing the clothes, investing on pieces and preparing the vision and creativity.”
“Making sure it all looked professional even though it was just me and them and no big investments, you know what they say “go big until you become it.”
I am very curious, where do you actually get the clothes from?
“So I buy directly from the brands, some of them want to collaborate with me or find someone that can give me discounts, or split commissions with. I also have people rent their own clothes on the app.”
Photo: Rent Club Paris
How do you choose the clothes?
“Everything, everything, everything is my style! I only rent pieces I absolutely love and would love to wear. Anything that makes me go “‘oh my god! I need this!”. So it truly is my dream job, I get to buy clothes I love all the time.”
Yes, that is the dream job. I am actually very jealous. It all sounds like a John Schwartz and Eric Daman real life movie. Was it that easy?
“No, At the beginning I was obviously losing a lot of money as I was renting items no one was renting. I figured the magic trick is dresses! Everyone wants to rent dresses! Now I do a lot of research on instagram or on Vestiaire collective to see what's on trend that I like. I had a good base to start off as I have a biggish following on social media. Communicating through social media is super natural to me, so using it as a way to show Rent Club Paris was very easy. Also a lot of mouth to mouth, I am invited as an influencer to events so that also became a strategy as I would wear the things on my app and people would ask me where my dress was from and I would say Rent Club Paris. Duh! Haha.”
“I would also go to someone and be like “hey I love your dress where do you get it from?” And start talking about my business and then they would love the idea and that is how influencer marketing worked for me. I would lend them clothes for their photos and they would post it and then get it back to me. So I never lost money or clothes through his format.”
How do you handle the stress, nerves and uncertainty of opening a new business?
“It was scary and at the same time I sensed I only have myself to be accounted for because I don't have any investments, the only responsibility was with myself, and my partners of course!”
“I am also someone that is not anxious, I don’t stress. There are so many things that can go wrong as it is so stressful, the returns, the deliveries, stains, odors so many things can go wrong so fortunately I am a very chill person and just take problems as they come. I am a doer. Let’s do it! I don’t think too much.”
Yes! Love that, nothing happens if we don’t act on our passions. And I appreciate your honesty as in this social media driven world sometimes we lose sense of reality.
“Yes! I had lots of doubts, I won’t lie and say it was easy, that’s not real.”
Photo: Rent Club Paris
Let’s talk about all things sustainable. Why did you choose this path?
“I started the rental business because fashion isn't sustainable. So if I was going to do nothing it had to prioritize sustainability. I always want clothes but I know it's not good, we can’t keep consuming like we are doing. And because I already have vintage pieces it just all made sense. This was how I would help people have great style while not compromising sustainability. Everything is delivered locally, never sent through airplanes.”
Sorry for over sharing but I know I sweat a lot throughout the day as I am sure so do others. How do you maintain clothes smelling and looking nice?
In between laughs Freja said;
“All pieces smell after they are used, somI clean them really well. We use sustainable detergents when clothes need to be washed. I clean most of them by hand, it's a lot of work but it's better.”
Out of curiosity, we all know sustainability has become a trend more than a real concern. Have you noticed people who rent actually do it for the sustainability aspect?
“Less people than I thought, honestly. Very few girls rent because it is sustainable. They are renting more because we have the dresses they like and it's cheaper to get them with me.”
Photo: Rent Club Paris
Do you remember your first client?
“Yes! My first client was a girl who noticed my business because an influencer she follows was wearing my dress. I had the idea of inviting only influencers to my store for a week to start creating hype around Rent Club Paris. She rented my leather jacket and took it for 3 days, and I got so excited because I made 100 dollars! But then I realized it wasn’t always going to be like that as I was renting dresses for 20 dollars and that was just way too cheap.”
Now let’s talk more about your personal style as it is the foundation of Rent Club Paris.
“My Scandinavian and French style really mix well together, but it is difficult to describe. Casually I dress very street-like, you know a lot of cargo pants, sneakers and hoodies. I really love that aesthetic but I also love a pink Paco Rabanne dress. Which is up for rent in the app.”
“My favorite brands at the moment are Diesel and Roberta Einer and this British cult designer Hu Die Gong Zhu, they have this super cool dress you wear with your best friend and the prints match when you stand together, it’s so cool!”
Who can rent at Club Rent Paris?
“Anyone who is in Paris, also anyone with clothes they would like to rent they can also join. This is also why I love this project, anyone can join in.”