My Wardrobe HQ launches luxury rental subscription service

Luxury rental and re-sale platform My Wardrobe HQ is launching a luxury monthly multi-label rental subscription service for a “truly circular offering”.

The subscription model, which has two different membership tiers, will allow customers to rent seasonless luxury ready-to-wear and accessories while “enjoying a ‘new’, refreshed sustainable wardrobe on regular rotation”.

Subscribers will have access a wardrobe of luxury pieces such as dresses, denim, cashmere knits and outerwear, focused on everyday wear for work and daily living. For 59 pounds a month, subscribers will be able to plan two items at a time or four items per month for 79 pounds.

Pieces will include jeans from Ports 1961, cashmere coats from Amanda Wakeley, day dresses from Tommy Hilfiger (up to size 24), sustainable faux-fur outerwear brand Freed, as well as shoes and accessories from Jimmy Choo, Manolo Blahnik, and Chanel.

Jane Shepherdson, chair at My Wardrobe HQ, said in a statement: “I became chair of My Wardrobe HQ as I could see that where the UK high street had once been the envy of the world as it democratised fashion for everyone, things have gone too far, with the fast fashion giants producing new collections every week. Whilst these seem to cost very little, they are literally costing the earth. Something needed to change, and it needed to be better for the customer.

“This subscription offer is the fullest incarnation of the potential of rental. Whilst My Wardrobe HQ are trying to find more brands to get involved so that it can be broader and offer more choice. This is a great starting point to make all customers reconsider how they shop. Whether you might want to borrow a wedding dress for a month or try those 600-pound heels that may not be comfortable enough to belong in your wardrobe or choose a cashmere coat and keep it for the winter. This subscription plan offers everything you need both to trade up from the everyday, keep things exciting for events and offers real value for money.”

My Wardrobe HQ offers fully circular rental subscription model

The new service is linked to research that on average, a UK shopper buys 60 items per year, and My Wardrobe HQ is hoping that allowing consumers to subscribe to a rotating wardrobe will reduce textile waste and encourage shoppers to change the way they shop fashion.

My Wardrobe HQ chief executive and co-founder, Sacha Newall, added: “My Wardrobe HQ was built with sustainability at its heart. We are so thrilled at the speed at which the UK market has adopted rental for event wear. The company was born with a sense of purpose, almost 3 years ago to the day, when we wondered if people that love fashion were ready to do things differently.

“It started with rental, allowing access to the ultimate collection for going to events, then we invited our customers to send their items that they don’t wear to rent and sell in order to keep all of these beautiful pieces in circulation for longer. Now, we are moving into the next frontier, which is to encourage people to consider rental for everyday dressing.”