In 2014, Larissa Manley was a first-year university student in Victoria with just $300 in her bank account. In her search for a way to make cash quickly, she considered selling some of the dresses she’d bought for university balls and high school formals, but didn’t want to part with them. “I thought, why not try renting them?” Manley says.
She claimed the Instagram handle @rentadressau, took some photos and posted them with captions explaining how they were for rent. Eventually, her friends started renting through her and slowly, a viable business grew.
More than a decade later, Rent a Dress has 38,000 Instagram followers and is one of several peer-to-peer rental platforms in Australia that invite users to rent garments and open up their own wardrobes with the promise of easy money.
“We have over 260 users that earn between $50,000 up to $200,000 per year,” says Kellie Hush, the chief brand and strategy officer of another rental service, The Volte, which was launched in 2017. “It’s a business for them so they are constantly adding stock to their rental collection.”
According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a not-for-profit dedicated to circularity, business models such as rental, resale and repair were worth more than US$73bn in 2019.
Rental is considered an important element of the sustainable future of the fashion industry because it increases the lifespan of the garment, encourages durable design and keeps garments out of landfill, the lead of the foundation’s fashion initiative, Jules Lennon, says. In one study, they found renting a cotton dress could reduce its carbon emissions by 41%. (Rental encompasses both peer-to-peer and professional services such as GlamCorner and Air Robe that have an archive of pieces and partner directly with designers.)
How does it work?
If you’re interested in generating some passive income and doing something to help the planet, the first step is to select a platform and set up a user account. These are like the Airbnb equivalent of clothing rental. They have an established base of users, procedures in place for uploading images of items and defined logistics to handle the exchange, as well as customer service policies to assist with any issues. It is also possible to go rogue on social media or through your own website. Air Closet, The Volte and Rent a Dress all take about 15% commission on the rental price, excluding shipping costs.
Next, take photos of the items you want to rent. According to The Volte, appropriate images include clean, well-lit pictures, professional photographs or a shot of you wearing the item at an event – not photos of the item on a coat hanger or laid out on a table or the floor. They also advise against posting photos with multiple people in them. Fill out the details of the item including the designer, size, fabric and rental price.
When bookings are made, you’ll receive information about the booking including the duration and how the garment will be procured by the renter. The majority of services work via the post: you send the item with a prepaid satchel to make it easy for the renter to post back afterwards.
Other services offer pickup or courier options that can be arranged via direct messaging. To ensure there are no laundry mishaps, cleaning the garment is the lender’s responsibility. If a garment is returned late, a late fee may be applied (The Volte charges $25 a day). If a garment is not returned at all, the renter can be charged a non-return fee, depending on the terms and conditions of the platform.
What garments should you rent out?
Most renters are looking for dresses and outfits for special events such as weddings, cocktail parties and balls and circular maternity wear is becoming increasingly popular. “Our users love to rent items they know they only want to wear once and probably never again,” the founder and CEO of Air Closet, Nicole Shiraz, says. “Luxury and event wear dominate rentals, with designer dresses, statement handbags and formal wear consistently in high demand.”
With this in mind, Bernadette Olivier, co-founder of The Volte, recommends new lenders stay abreast of the latest trends while also investing in timeless design. “The customer loves new pieces, but we are seeing through our data that brands like Alemais and Alex Perry have dresses renting that are several years old,” she says. “A new lender will see greater success sharing special occasion, investment pieces in a gently worn condition.”
Quality is another consideration and garments that are designed to withstand many wears and cleaning cycles. Services that fail to do this are more likely to be economically and environmentally unviable, says Lennon.
Don’t rent out sentimental pieces
“Make sure you don’t rent out items that have sentimental value because you might part with that item more than you might think,” says Shiraz. “Most of our lenders rent out their items on average eight to 10 times a year.”
Keep in mind how you might feel if the dress were to be ruined by a spilt drink or heel through the hem. “While it’s uncommon, accidents do happen,” says Manley. “We do have compensation pathways in place but for sentimental pieces the monetary value is not usually the primary concern. If in doubt, save your special pieces for yourself.”
Is garment rental the future of fashion?
According to circular economy nonprofit the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, circular business models could be worth US$700bn by the end of the decade; at this size they could reduce the fashion industry’s carbon footprint by 16%.
In the meantime, businesses are engaging technology to make renting garments easier and more efficient. This month, The Volte launched a new feature in partnership with David Jones. When a new garment is bought through the department store, customers will be able to instantly list it for rental on The Volte. “As a company we are highly invested in keeping quality fashion in circulation longer and by making it easier for consumers to list their items and enter the circular economy,” says Hush.
Air Closet is developing a virtual try-on feature that combines AI and selfies to help users see how a garment might fit. “We are more than just a fashion rental platform,” says Shiraz. “We are a movement towards sustainable fashion and financial empowerment.”