Give your wardrobe a new lease of life
You can bene-fit from a cheaper way to look fab
WANT to wear the red-carpet labels of Hollywood stars like Margot Robbie and Kate Beckinsale – but can’t afford the price tag?
A new online designer dress rental platform means you can hire out frocks from brands like Rixo and Solace London for just a fraction of the cost.
And you can make money from renting out the stunning pieces from your own wardrobe too.
Willow Collective is the only Irish “peer-to-peer” site where you can lend and rent dresses for €65 to €80.
It’s the concept of Newry fashionista Cara Heaney, who realised women have a treasure trove of barely-worn occasion dresses sitting unused in their wardrobe.
The average woman has 22 dresses – with many only worn once or twice for big events.
So mum-of-three Cara, 41, came up with a way they could go online and rent them to others.
She says the dress rental market is a new thing in Ireland and has numerous benefits – it’s affordable, sustainable and economical.
She said: “With weddings, family events and big occasions, you can’t keep buying new stuff. “But you can’t wear the same thing all the time either.
“Peer-to-peer designer dress rental shows people they can get more than one wear out of what is hanging in their closet.
“It’s about the circular economy and limiting the environmental impact of the fashion industry.”
The high-end labels available also include Nadine Mirabi – favourite of Kate Moss and Rita Ora – and Rebecca Vallance, whose pieces are often worn by Hailey Bieber and Eva Mendes. They retail new for approximately €300-400.
Cara said: “You see the celebrities wearing these labels. TV personalities and influencers such as Pippa O’connor.”
TV hosts Claudia Winkleman and Jennifer Zamparelli both wore many of the designers featured on Willow Collective while presenting Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing With The Stars.
Cara originally started out with a designer rental shop in Newry in 2019 but could not keep up with the demand, so expanded the business online.
She said: “I looked at the models in the UK and the US and realised nobody in Ireland was doing it. There’s a big market for it.”
She started her online peer-to-peer service at the end of last year.
Just a few months in, she already has numerous lenders and renters signed up to Willow Collective. The range of dresses are in sizes 6 to 18. Users fill in a form, take a photo of the dress they want to lend out, post it up and then wait for the requests to come in.
The lender then posts out the dress to the renter for €65 per wear. Dresses can be hired for between €70 and €80.
Stunning looks include The Elina by Solace London, a peach, an off-theshoulder mini dress with dramatic puff sleeves; The Miya by Nadine Merabi, a halterneck showstopper in red sequins; and Kyoto Ball by Kevan Jon, which is a lilac, full-length gown with a gorgeous blue underlay.