Fashion for hire: Americans embrace clothing rental services
Fashion for hire: Americans embrace clothing rental
services
Date created : 17/07/2019 - 10:33
New York (AFP) Remember when you bought an expensive
evening gown for an event, only to ever wear it once or twice? Or picked up a
trendy T-shirt, only to leave it gathering dust in the closet?
Those days are over for more and more American women, who
are embracing clothing rental services as a way to freshen up their wardrobes
-- but the growing sector could threaten the traditional fashion industry.
"Rental is the current buzzword in retail,"
says Kayla Marci, a market analyst at research firm Edited.
Just a decade ago, clothing rentals were for special
occasions. But the business has since transformed and is raking in $1 billion
in sales worldwide, according to a study published in April by business
consulting firm Grand View Research.
Cosmetics executive Jacqueline Jackson had her eureka
moment when she realized that a monthly unlimited subscription for Rent The
Runway, the leader in the American sector, would cost less than for her to rent
one dress she wanted to wear to a wedding.
"It was just nice to have the option to have this
kind of unlimited closet and be able to wear things that I wouldn't be able to
own necessarily because a lot of the items are pretty expensive," said
Jackson, a mother of two young children.
"I don't have any time to shop."
Like many of its competitors, Rent The Runway (RTR) --
which has more than 11,000 monthly subscribers -- offers ready-to-wear pieces
from luxury labels like Victoria Beckham, Proenza Schouler and Phillip Lim.
Each item would cost several hundred dollars to buy.
For $89 a month, a subscriber can get four pieces at a
time from the company, now valued at $1 billion. RTR also offers an unlimited
subscription for $159 a month.
Seattle-based start-up Armoire, which already has several
thousand subscribers, offers a plan at $149 a month.
Once a Rent The Runway client has worn an item and wants
to swap it for something else, they can send it back via UPS or drop it off at
a bricks-and-mortar store. The company handles cleaning.
Customers also have the option to buy the item at a
reduced price.
"When you're buying your own wardrobe, you think
'What are the chances I would have to wear this thing? Am I going to get a lot
of use out of it?'" Jackson says.
"So you tend to buy things that are more basic
colors, not wanting to spend money on something that might be too trendy that
you might only wear for one or two seasons. Here, you can wear the trendy
things and even if you wear them one time, then it doesn't matter."
The various clothing rental platforms currently on offer,
which only cater to women for the time being, process the data they receive
from users about preferences and measurements.
They then use artificial intelligence to propose pieces
they believe subscribers would want to wear.
"We'll show her items that we know she'll like but
we can slowly push her outside her comfort zone and introduce items that she
wouldn't normally pick for herself, that she wouldn't normally wear," says
Lili Morton, who is in charge of community development at Armoire.
- A move away from 'fast fashion' -
The other trump card for clothing rental services is its
sustainability and rejection of excessive consumption -- themes that resonate
for their clientele.
Swedish furniture giant IKEA is moving into furniture
rental, a service already provided in the United States by start-up Fernish.
"I think people like the idea of buying less fast
fashion, things that you buy and are good enough quality to wear for one
season," says Jackson.
"It's nice to have less of that junk in your closet
and spend money to wear quality clothes."
According to several industry sources, most pieces are
used about 15 times before they are taken out of rotation.
Armoire has reached a deal with non-profit organization
Dress for Success, which offers free professional attire to women in need.
For some labels, rentals are providing a gateway to new
customers. But more generally, it is offering competition to traditional
ready-to-wear sales.
As the sector takes off, several platforms like Haverdash
are launching low-cost options. Traditional brands like American Eagle, Ann
Taylor and Urban Outfitters are following suit.
"These platforms are disrupting the fashion industry
and changing the way we shop," says Marci.
Since she subscribed to RTR, Jackson says she has bought
fewer items and more basics.
"Renting is really like sharing. You're not just
buying, buying, buying," she adds.
© 2019 AFP
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