Omar Abul Ata on the rise of RESERVE App and his plans to digitize the editorial fashion industry

While the world around us is dramatically shifting to a more sustainable mindset of consumption, the fashion industry is also following. With countless new solutions at our disposal as to how we as consumers can be more mindful of extending the life cycle of their clothing, Omar Abul Ata is looking to promote just that. The Toronto transplant has just launched an exclusive B2B marketplace centered around commercial and editorial fashion rentals.

When it comes to the world of PR marketing, editorial professionals are the backbone of the industry as it is their job to deliver the story of a collection to consumers. Over 400,000 Stylists collectively spend an average of 10 million hours a week in prep time, to curate multiple unique looks for a shoot. Physically scouring resale and vintage retailers, returning items back to where they were sourced, all while being limited by their geographic location and the depth and breadth of their professional network.

In turn he’s also experienced the unseen consequences of this process. Having been in retail for many years, he’s dealt with stylists coming in to return 3-4 thousand dollars worth of clothes from a shoot. Causing sales associates to spend hours retagging and remerchandising items. In turn negatively affecting retail employees’ productivity, performance and sales.

With that said, he began to explore possible solutions to this problem, he initially explored Consumer Fashion Rentals, only to find that the online space is primarily dominated by womenswear services like Glam Corner, Tulerie and Rent the Runway. Seasons is the only menswear player, offering a member’s only platform to rent 1-4 items a month.

However, with commercial fashion rentals, there are only brick and mortar offerings such as Production Houses and PR Showrooms, allowing for an elusive gap in the market to be filled by RESERVE.

The growing sector is going to be worth $2.1 billion USD by 2025, indicating a clear shift in consumer spending habits, moving away from fast fashion driven purchases to a more sustainable mindset of recyclable clothing. This new consumer is the backbone of the sharing economy.

Abul Ata’s goal is to decentralize the fashion industry by creating an equal playing field amongst all fashion professionals, regardless of their background or depth of their professional network. While he has mostly focused on getting Toronto’s creative scene connected via the app for now, Abul Ata is ready to do the same in New York, London, Los Angeles and Paris.

This is a platform where up and coming independent designers are able to access industry renowned stylists. A place where stylists can access leading designers without having to worry about who they know. All while reducing the fashion industry’s carbon footprint and being a contributor to circular fashion.

Whether you're a renter or a lister, RESERVE App is here for you to connect with other professionals within the fashion industry.

RESERVE App facilitates commercial & editorial fashion rentals by connecting fashion professionals to retailers, independent designers and fashion resellers. While eliminating waste and promoting a longer life cycle of clothing, RESERVE APP is an industry tool with the purpose of saving time, money and stress by delivering items directly to shoot locations and displaying a directory of designer items available for rent.