In 2009, Rent the Runway was founded by Jennifer Hyman, specializing in buying designer items from wholesalers and posting them on rental websites for as little as 15% of the outfit’s actual value.
The pioneer in developing this fashion application in China is YCloset, founded in 2015. With a monthly membership fee of 499 CNY (about 1.8 million VND), users can rent all kinds of clothes.
YCloset with many diverse clothing models, including domestic products, has satisfied many customers.
Bright, easy-to-see interface of the YCloset application on phones and computers.
In addition, members can also share photos of their outfits through the app and get to try on all the items they want.
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Unlike Rent the Runway, which specializes in providing evening wear, YCloset expands into office wear with its target customers being women between the ages of 25 and 30.
“This is what is really needed for the Chinese people,” shares Doris Ke, PR Director of YCloset.
The Chinese market prioritizes office or street style over evening wear.
In September 2017, this fashion app raised $50 million in capital funded by Alibaba, Softbank China and Sequoia China, partnering with leading companies in China’s online wholesale industry.
Realizing that this is the golden land of the future fashion industry, a number of other similar fashion applications are also emerging such as US-based MSParis and Le Tote which are racing to meet the needs of the middle class.
Interface on Le Tote’s website with full outfit information.
One of the many factors driving this service industry to grow is the need to diversify customers’ wardrobes at a lower cost and with less risk in online purchases because they cannot identify themselves.
“It is difficult for women to find quality, affordable designs in China,” Ms. Ke said.
Kenzo’s high-end silk dress, priced at about 3,000 yuan (about 11 million VND), will be many times cheaper if it is `shared` by users of the clothing rental application.
MSParis, which only focuses on high-end evening wear brands, is now also shifting to everyday outfits with more popular fashion products to keep up with the increasing needs of customers.
Most of the app’s users are concentrated in China’s first-tier cities, which have a developed economy.
Preserving clothes to keep them looking new and ensuring hygiene is a big challenge for these fashion application companies.
Besides, there are mixed opinions that with the amount of money they have to spend each month to rent branded clothes, they can buy two to three other sets of quality clothes at a cheaper price.
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