By Sakshi Kapoor

• Fashion Design Faculty

Of late, an alarming environmental clock, enormously filled wardrobes and unceasing expenditures have been making headlines resulting in creation of a massive loophole in the fashion-market lately. The proliferating love for the latest trend fades over time and materialism has been making way for the rise in rental clothing. With increase in demand for shared accommodations, travel and workspaces the present generation is being brought up with an understanding of accommodating with the evolving needs.

Reportedly, the rental industry was valued at $1.1 billion in 2017 globally and is predicted to rise sharply touching $2 billion mark by 2025. The rising scale of the trend is gradually eliminating the stigma of shared clothing. The industry is rising beyond the expectations and in not just merely in terms of event wear, rather it has already set some serious standards for casual wear as well. Fashion rentals are supporting temporary fashion needs of consumers, like maternity wear, while rental brands are keeping an eye on the demand of a mass market and everyday requirements. Apart from clothing, handbags, trainers and similar products are available as well at a fraction of the original cost for the consumers willing to save in items they may not need in long term, which may temporarily satiate their needs or wants at the same time.

Historically, the United States has been playing a pioneering role in the invention of the trend direction with Labels like Rent the Runway. These labels are providing regular monthly subscriptions to a long list of clients. Brands like Wear the Walk, My Wardrobe HQ and Front Row provide High-end fashion with monthly subscription. The rental fee varies between a price-range of 10% – 15% of the original price in flexible number of subscription-tenures.

With raising graphs, brands targeting the general mass like Myntra have paved a way to the trend in their catalogue. In partnership with largest rental network in India Flyrobe, Myntra have successfully infiltrated into the segment of Occasion-wear rentals.

We are living in a challenging time. In the face of climatic, systematic ecological breakdown triggered by ‘Global Heating’, the Global Fashion Industry has a crucial responsibility, especially being a multi billion dollars industry with a huge contributor of green house gases and is expected to look for sustainable solutions within itself. Also with a hike in materialism, the consumers, especially the younger image-conscious generations, are always searching for the newest, trendiest collection and ever-ready to shop for ‘the perfect Selfie’, Rental Fashion surely comes in handy, bridging the much needed gap.