How fashion rental hit its stride in 2019
THE concept of old, forgotten purchases lingering in closets could soon be a thing of the past: 2019 was the year that fashion rental went mainstream.
Myriad companies now offer shoppers the chance to borrow clothing for special occasions, vacations or everyday dressing, as consumers seek to minimise waste and shop in a more environmentallyfriendly way, reports AFP-Relaxnews.
Rent the Runway (RTR) has had a particularly big year. The company kicked off 2019 with new luxury collaborations with Derek Lam, Prabal Gurung and Jason Wu, and in November it announced plans to expand the number of Nordstrom locations allowing RTR members to return items, increasing its ‘RTR Drop-Off Box Network’ from five to 29 Nordstrom stores across the US. This month, the company launched a partnership with W Hotels that will give guests the chance to hire a curated selection of fashion pieces for the duration of their vacations in select destinations.
Mainstream fashion retailers have also started to incorporate rental services into their business models. Examples include Urban Outfitters, whose US subscription service Nuuly launched this summer, allowing users to borrow up to six pieces for the price of US$88 per month, either returning them after the rental period, or purchasing them. The US department store Bloomingdale’s also debuted the online subscription service “My List at Bloomingdale’s” in September, charging users US$149 a month.
Fast fashion giant H&M Group is the latest company to jump on board. The Swedish behemoth announced plans to offer clothing rentals at its flagship store in Stockholm last month, giving shoppers who belong to its customer loyalty programme the chance to hire up to three pieces at a time for the duration of one week.