Would you Rent the Runway?

[BayGBM]

A Netflix Model for Haute Couture
By JENNA WORTHAM

For many women, a $1,000 dress is something they admire in the pages of a glossy magazine or see draped on the frame of a celebrity — not an item hanging in their closet.

But a nascent Web site called Rent the Runway is hoping to make high-end fashions much more accessible and almost as easy as renting a movie from Netflix.

The mail-order service, which finishes the testing phase on Monday, allows women to rent dresses from notable fashion designers like Diane Von Furstenberg, Hervé Léger and Proenza Schouler for roughly one-tenth of what they would cost to buy in a retail store.

The rentals run $50 to $200 for a four-night loan and are shipped directly to the customer’s doorstep. After wearing the dress, she puts it into a prepaid envelope and drops it in the mail. Dry cleaning is included in the price, but damage insurance costs $5, and in the case of outright destruction of the dress, the renter is responsible for the full retail price.

Rent the Runway is a recession-era twist on the Internet rent-by-mail model, which has been used for things like textbooks and video games in addition to movies. Unlike those utilitarian items, however, the dresses offer a touch of Cinderella — on a budget.

Julia Harris, a 27-year-old graduate student living in New York, turned to Rent the Runway when she needed something chic for a fall wedding. For $50, she got a fuchsia Catherine Malandrino number with an elaborately ruffled bust that would have cost $495 to buy.

“It was so easy. You just wear it and drop it back in the mail to them,” Ms. Harris said. “I don’t spend $2,000 on a dress regularly, so it’s nice to be able to wear some of the more expensive brands I wouldn’t be able to buy otherwise. And instead of just buying one or two dresses for this season, I can still have a lot of things to wear.”

Rent the Runway was founded by two recent Harvard Business School graduates, Jennifer Hyman and Jennifer Carter Fleiss. Ms. Hyman said she got the idea for the service last year after watching her younger sister agonize over whether to buy an expensive new outfit to wear to a wedding.

“Here was this young girl who loves fashion and was willing to spend a good portion of her salary on a dress that she’s only going to wear once or twice, and I thought, there has to be a solution for this,” said Ms. Hyman.

The founders say that more than 20,000 women have signed up for the service, which has been shipping dresses for only a week. Bain Capital Ventures provided seed financing, which the company used to build its inventory of 160 styles.

Rent the Runway declined to discuss its business strategy, but it is clear the company faces several risks. Unlike DVDs, fashion changes quickly, and there is no guarantee that the company will be able to rent each dress enough times to cover its costs...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/09/technology/09runway.html?_r=1&em=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1257872401-0Kpvxfi6xhfWTRi4oBHOEA

[BayGBM]

I for got to mention...

The company has chosen to make the service invitation-only, which gives it an air of exclusivity but may limit its audience.

[newmom]

thats a great idea, but I bought an amazing empirio armani black dress in SOHO for 535 and have worn it 3 times this year. Bought it in feburary of this year and hopefully if i have a new years date, will wear it then. It will neverrrrrrrrr go out of style, but for a color dress that would be a great idea to rent a dress

[tonymctones]

I for got to mention...

The company has chosen to make the service invitation-only, which gives it an air of exclusivity but may limit its audience.

I dont like this part but i think the overall business model is actually pretty good, maybe do it with jewelry as well.

[BayGBM]

They already have rentals for jewelery http://blingyourself.com/

and handbags https://www.bagborroworsteal.com/

[24KT]

There's a service like that in chicago that is renting dresses as well. I forget the url off the top of my head.

Personally, I prefer wrap sales. You can pick up great fashions that will become all the rage at 10% of the retail price. In many cases they've been worn only once. In other instances haven't been worn at all. Good luck if it's a Nicholette Sheridan project. She frequently has it stipulated in her contract that she gets to keep her wardrobe, ...but there are some incredible finds you can get on a wrap sale. A friend of mine in Florida got the rims from James Bonds BMW for a steal. Wrap sales are hard to come by for the general public, ...but if you can get in on one, ...you're laughing. you'd be surprised all the incredible finds you can grab... not just clothing, ...but pretty much anything including set dec. You can come away with the most amazingly furnished place, unique, one of a kind... not the same old stuff that everyone has. I almost grabbed a set of lighted palm trees from the ballroom scene in the Marlon Brando  Matthew Broderick film 'The Freshman'. It's harder to score wardrobe from the larger studio films cause they usually throw everything into warehouses for future projects, ...but on smaller inde MOWs... when there's an actor / actress close to your size, and whose character matches your style... the pickings are great!

Another good acquisition spot are high end consignment stores. Many times you can get incredible quality garments, many never even worn, that are simply unloaded by the extremely wealthy who simply need to make room in their master bedroom sized 2 story closets for the next truckload of designer fashions being delivered to their homes. lol

[brooklynbruiser]

Interesting idea. I like the exclusivity aspect. In the end, I imagine it will be only the perception of exclusivity as the ability to 'invite' others will probably be a large part of growing their clientele. Good luck to them!

[24KT]

Interesting idea. I like the exclusivity aspect. In the end, I imagine it will be only the perception of exclusivity as the ability to 'invite' others will probably be a large part of growing their clientele. Good luck to them!

I smell a network marketing venture in the making.