It’s a wardrobe worth tens of thousands, beloved of celebs from Holly Willoughby to Stacey Dooley, and shown off this week to dazzling effect by Carrie Johnson at the G7 summit.
So what do these on-trend floral gowns, immaculate Prada shoes and designer bags have in common?
They are rented from a growing band of eco-luxe clothes hire companies who are striving to make fashion more sustainable (and affordable).
And for as little as £8 a day, you could rent them too.
Most of Johnson’s ensembles — including her £2,586 wedding dress (pictured below) by Christos Costarellos — were hired from My Wardrobe HQ.
Her designer wedding gown was rented for £45 a day. The £265 mustard yellow Alice Early dress she wore for her arrival on the beach for the G7 was just £8 a day, the £1,395 Roksanda pleated dress she wore to meet the Trudeaus was £24 and the silk-satin floral The Vampire’s Wife dress — currently £805 at Net-a-Porter — was rented through Hurr, another upmarket rental brand, for £72 a day.
Teamed with rented Gucci Dionysus bag and yellow Prada shoes, it was good enough for, well, dinner with the Queen.
Renting not only makes financial sense but also environmental sense: hiring out a dress scores of times avoids tons of landfill, saves on water for dyeing, prevents the overuse of raw textiles and cuts down on pollution from shipping — all of which would be an issue if you’re producing the dress 50 times for 50 people.
Holly Willoughby has also taken to wearing rental dresses from Hurr for her TV appearances (last month she donned an especially cute pink mini dress from The Vampire’s Wife, rented for £59), Stacey Dooley is a fan and Laura Whitmore also rents designer numbers.
Hurr has a rental ‘shop’ in Selfridges where you can browse through the rails — think of it like a fashion library where you can borrow a dress, shoes or even jewellery.
After they are returned, they are dry-cleaned (using a green dry cleaner and reusable packaging, naturally), then returned to the fashion library ready to be rehired.
Eco-conscious twentysomethings are eschewing owning throwaway fashion in favour of high-end clothes they wear, share and borrow, and vintage or pre-loved fashion that has plenty of life left in it.
Hurr has seen an 850% increase in registered users and a 150%increase in rentals in the past year.
‘Our audience is mainly millennial and Gen Z, and highly engaged in sustainability,’ says Victoria Prew, CEO of Hurr.
Popular categories include mini-handbags and floral midi dresses from brands including Wray, Reformation and Self-Portrait.
Instagrammers such as Rosanna Falconer and Laura Wills don’t just hire their designer looks, they also share their own clothes by listing them with Hurr so they can be worn again — and generate an income for their owners.
Falconer, co-founder of FashMash and a fashion brand consultant, rents her clothes on Hurr.
‘Having worked in fashion for nearly 15 years, I had become quite used to borrowing samples for events so the transition to a less possessive approach to my wardrobe was an easy one,’ she says.
‘My career in fashion has also meant I’ve witnessed first-hand its urgent need to break from a traditional business model or act in a more responsible, ethical way when it comes to both environmental and social factors.’
While Hurr needs outfits to be less than two years old, designer label — everything from Rixo and Needle & Thread to Ganni and Chanel — and more than £120, Onloan hires more top-end high-street brands and cult labels, such as Shrimps, Hayley Menzies and Soeur, on a monthly subscription basis.
While the way we wear fashion is changing, a quick glance at Hurr shows sizes are still quite limited unless you’re a perfect 8 or 10. But when you’re shopping for a party outfit this summer, remember that the style cognoscenti’s latest question isn’t over where you got your dress from but how you got it.
As Prew says: ‘Renting a dress is a bit like being the “smartest woman in the room” — she’s savvy, has spent a fraction of the retail price and is sharing the message that renting is now cool.’
Second hand, first class
Fashionistas are also turning to vintage and second-hand shopping as a way of closing the loop in fashion, and there are now a host of platforms allowing you to cheaply buy and sell unwanted clothes. So where to head?
If you’re a ’90s kid, start with Asos Vintage, which allows its customers to sell (for a 20% commission) their old clothes as well as vintage brands, and is a gold mine for 1990s style and retro sportwear.
Meanwhile, shoe junkie Sole Responsibility sells ex-display trainers and high-quality seconds for less than half the price of a new pair.
Of the bricks-and-mortar options, Asda has just begun stocking Preloved Vintage Wholesale’s range of used clothes in 50 of its stores, alongside its own new fashion lines.
Then there are the big hitters. DePop started life as a social network where the readers of it could buy items featured in the magazine. As it grew, a selling function was added and an app created where you can see what your friends and the people you’re inspired by are liking, buying and selling. It now has 21million users.
And finally, for newer, second-hand fashion, Vinted offers a way to sell your used clothes and to buy vintage and second hand — you can sell anything from H&M and TU to Zadig & Voltaire.
What to rent…
Vintage chanel
Hurr features the collections of influencers and fashionistas. Hire these £2,200 earrings from £135.
With the band tee
By Rotation is the UK’s fastest growing peer-to-peer rental app. This Hayley Menzies T-shirt is available from £3.
Chloé bag
Cocoon is a monthly subscription luxury handbag rental club. Lease Chloé’s Kiss Hobo shoulder bag from £49 a month.
Prada sandals
My Wardrobe HQ is the place for pieces that would usually bust the wallet. Prada 2000’s Platform Sandals, available in UK 4, are from £14.
Shrimps blouse
Onloan’s range spans sizes 8-16 and pieces from £250-£450. We love this Shrimps Amelia blouse. £69 per month for two items/£99 for four.
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