The big flashy wardrobes filled with clothes we never have time to, or even want to, wear are on their way out. Over consumption is not just un-ethical and un-sustainable, but also not trendy anymore – thanks to movements of conscious consumption and slow fashion. But it’s also due to practicality and the fact that expensive housing prices in big cities around the globe mean we don’t actually have the space for all this clothing we’re being told we need to buy. We physically don’t have the space to have clothes for every occasion, and we’re therefore seeing a huge increase in renting options.
A sharing economy on the rise
In countries all over the world, we’re seeing new developments of the sharing economy. Leaders like accommodation sharing platform Airbnb in the US, to farming equipment sharing in South Africa, to the sharing of household tools in the UK. And when it comes to fashion, the initiatives leading the way, are smaller businesses renting out clothes.
It started getting popular during the 2000s with expensive designer bags as the big hit, especially as US renting company Bag, Borrow or Steal got famous through the first Sex and the City movie in 2008 where Carrie’s (Sarah Jessica Parker) assistant Louise (Jennifer Hudson) is raving about the bags she can now afford to carry.
But as I feel we’re moving away from the hype around celebrity fashion, the renting of fashion is now more about having access to a more varied wardrobe, without having it taking up space in our homes. And it’s more about the day-to-day things, or the things we don’t need very often – like, a wedding dress, or skiing gear.
What do we actually need to own?
Well, probably much less than we think. I’m a big fan of decluttering, and getting rid of things we’re not actively using. But the feeling that we need to have everything in our wardrobe, in case we need it at some point, is stopping us from decluttering properly.
Renting is a very good solution for this.
As I’m now in Sweden, I’m hearing about loads of exciting initiatives here when it comes to renting fashion, but I would love to hear of other initiatives in other parts of the world so please do share!
Dutch LENA fashion library offers online and in-store rentals on a one-time or subscription basis, and Swedish Something Borrowed follows a similar model. The Wow Closet is again similar, but with a focus on dresses and bridal wear. Another obvious category for renting is children’s outerwear as they’ll grow out of their clothing after each season so a renting option is way more sustainable, and Swedish Hyber is doing just this. To be fair, outerwear for adults is also an important category, especially as it comes to activewear, as most of us will only need this kind of gear every now and then.
Outdoor gear is definitely rent-able
I wish I could go skiing more often and, as I’m back in Sweden, I’m hoping to be able to do so. And I would like to invest in some proper gear that I can hopefully wear for many years to come (most of the stuff I still have, I’ve used since I was a teenager), so if you’ve got any suggestions on sustainable gear please send them my way.
As I haven’t had the time to do the research / shopping just yet, I decided to borrow everything I needed for our Easter ski break this weekend. We rented equipment at the resort, and in terms of the clothing, I’ve pretty much borrowed the whole lot from my sister (the base layer and the woolly layers are my own). I’m of course very lucky to have a sister who a) has all this stuff, and b) is the same size as me, and I appreciate this might not be the case for everyone, but if you’ve got a ski or outdoor trip coming up, it’s definitely worth asking around amongst friends or at work as there will most likely be (barely used) gear laying around.
Innovative and forward-thinking companies like Swedish outerwear brand Houdini, that are working towards a more circular economy, are already picking up on the benefits and potential in outerwear rental. They’re offering single-piece or set rentals for those that might not have family or friends to borrow from and/or want to ensure they’re wearing some top-quality pieces, and I definitely think we’ll be seeing more of this going forward.