Rental Fashion on the Rise
One-time occasion wear is not an uncommon practice. From weddings to proms, shoppers are buying expensive formal wear, just to wear for one occasion and collect dust in their wardrobes.
Image: via Rent the Runway
Rental fashion is nothing new, founded in 2009, Rent the Runway, is a shopping platform that allows shoppers to order designer clothes online to use for a couple of days, and return. Renting the runway removes all the hassle, clothes arrive, ready to wear, in a garment bag. When it’s time for the garment to be returned, the shoppers resecure it in the garment bag with the prepared shipping label and return it via mail.
Repairs, cleaning, and redistribution is handled by Rent the Runways team. Renting occasion wear saves the bank, offering cheaper prices such as a LoveShackFancy dress, which retail for $395, for $45 on a 3-day rental. It also prevents overconsumption, allowing the same garment to get a lot of wear before it is deemed unfit for any more rentals and has gotten its wear. A similar service can be found for formal masculine styles in Generation Tux, an online wedding suit rental service, that allows a groom and his groomsmen to get their suits on loan for 17 days, including a try-on period.
Image: via Rent the Runway
Traditional retail brands are beginning to take hold of the interest in renting over buying. URBN parent company to brands like Free People, Urban Outfitters, and Anthropologie has welcomed a new brand, NUULY, a shopping experience that allows their consumer base to shop their favorite brands without the guilt associated with overconsumption or the prices. NUULY is different, it’s more than just formal wear, they offer everything from workwear, casual pieces, and activewear. For $98 a month, shoppers can select 6 styles to receive in the mail, then choose to keep or return at the end of the month and NUULY handles the rest. Brand expansions like this benefit shopper’s pockets, and keep overconsumption at bay.
Image: via Rent the Runway
Other examples of retails with similar services include Nordrom’s Trunk Club and Vince. But with interest in renting over shopping on the rise, we can expect brands popular among gen z to develop their own versions of rental services like NUULY to compete, offering new rental options, and redefining the way shoppers source their clothes.
