The world's rich and famous rent clothes, so why don't you?

You can rent a house, a hotel room, a car, or even a piece of land to set up a project on, but is it possible to rent clothes?

The idea was strange at first, but gradually it became a popular business in Europe, Asia and the world, as major brands and retailers compete in the manufacture and trade of fashion, and even expand it with the great demand for renting expensive clothes and fashion.

H&M has introduced a rental section in its Regent Street store in the heart of London, while M&S recently announced an expansion of its offering on its Hirestreet rental platform. , through which I started renting clothes for the first time about a year ago.

LK Bennett, John Lewis and Jigsaw are also giving customers the option to rent instead of buying online, as reported by The Guardian. finally.

exponential growth

Why do so many people rent clothes and fashion?

What is the extent of this trade and its future in the world in the coming years?

The online clothing rental market is estimated to reach $1,856 million at the beginning of this year, with a compound annual growth rate of 10.6% from 2017 to 2023, as the rental market caters to consumers' needs for luxury clothing.

This market is directed by those who cannot afford to buy luxury clothes or do not want to spend money to buy them in order to use them for one or two occasions, according to the Allied Market Research platform, finally.

For example, a luxurious dress can be rented from the Paco Rabanne chain of stores for only 219 pounds (about 270 dollars) for a period of 4 days, instead of buying it for 2,500 pounds (about 3 thousand dollars).

Renting luxury fashion is not limited to the general public or the middle class only (Shutterstock)

Technology helps growth

North American countries have a well-established and well-established system for leasing via the Internet, and emerging companies for renting clothes began operating in this market several years ago, while in other countries such as China, India and Brazil, the increase in the spread of the Internet helped achieve a strong growth rate, as demand increases and develops day by day. .

The spread of the use of applications and smart phones in these countries has also greatly enhanced the market, as the ease of access to online stores is a major driver for the growth of the global market for renting clothes. Social acceptance of clothing rental.

And many online rental companies have begun great efforts to enhance their market reach with the help of technology, and other advertising innovations such as offering a discount on the price of renting clothes in the event of a pre-booking a month in advance, which helped support and enhance this market, according to the Allied Market Research platform. in its report.

There are other factors that helped the market grow, including ease of use, the ability to search and compare prices, and choose the appropriate ones from the rental platforms spread across the Internet, in addition to the great influence of social networks such as Facebook and Instagram and the spread of clothing rental pages through these platforms, which helped the expansion and growth of the market. Significantly.

Major brands are racing to rent the clothes they produce (Shutterstock)

Celebrities and rich people wear rental clothes

Renting luxury fashion is not limited to the general public or the middle class only, but rather to the aristocracy and celebrities from the world's rich.

For example, the Duchess of Cambridge recently wore a lemon green dress from "Solace" while participating in the "Earthshot" award party in Boston, USA, as she rented the dress for 74 pounds sterling (about $ 91) only from one of the specialized platforms. via the Internet, instead of buying it for 350 pounds (about 433 dollars).

According to the aforementioned "Guardian" report, actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas and reality TV star Courtney Kardashian are fans of rented fashion.

The rental apparel market started to boom a few years ago with Gen Z, due to their obsession with the environment and workers' rights.

But also, with the high cost of living, high prices, and the global economic crisis after the "Covid-19" crisis, and then the Russian war on Ukraine, many people around the world turned to the rented clothing and fashion market.

Generation Z is the generation that follows millennials.

There are no specific dates for the start and end of this generation, but researchers and demographers often use it to express people born in the mid-nineties of the 20th century to the end of the first decade of the 21st century.

Indians take pride in rented clothes

In India, for example, Indians show off rented clothes for events and weddings, according to the "Fortune India" platform.

This trade began in India in 2014 when the couple, Abhinav Anand and Srishti Arora Anand, wanted to rent clothes for them at their wedding party, instead of buying them at exorbitant prices.

But they could not find such a service in New Delhi, so Srishti - who was working in a comfortable job in a company in the Indian capital - seized the opportunity and launched a small clothing rental shop with her husband in Rajouri Park in New Delhi in 2015.

The couple gave up their comfortable jobs to become successful entrepreneurs.

“We wanted to rent clothes for our wedding because we knew we would only wear them once, so why waste our money buying them for one-time use?” says Anand.

"When we couldn't find any rental offers, we realized there was demand, but no supply," he adds.

Many famous brands rent their fashion online (Shutterstock)

Today, the Wedding Bells company founded by the young couple is a thriving business.

From one store in 2015, the business has expanded to 3 stores in New Delhi, and they plan to open branches in other Indian cities.

“People are no longer shy about renting clothes for weddings,” says Anshal Saini, CEO of costume rental company Flyrobe. “They are making us proud on social media.”

The market for rented fashion and clothing is currently growing greatly in India and various countries of the world, especially with the “Generation Z” taking over, as it has become the vast majority of the young working generations in the world.

It is a generation driven by a great sense of social justice and the desire to protect the environment, as the fashion industry is one of the most polluting industries in the world, as it causes more pollution than the shipping, aviation and air industry sectors combined.

It is also responsible for 20% of the world's wastewater and 10% of toxic carbon emissions.

It is classified by many scientists and experts as the second largest polluter of the environment after the oil industry, according to a previous report in "Al-Jazeera Net".

And in light of the difficult economic conditions that most peoples of the world suffer from, the decline in the purchasing power of people in various countries and countries, and the tendency of many famous brands to rent their fashion via the Internet, it is expected that the rental clothing and fashion market will continue to flourish to a large extent in the future.