Jennifer Hyman and Jennifer Fleiss were two friends who met when they attended Harvard business school and decided to launch Rent the Runway in 2009. Hyman was born on August 24, 1980, and New York-born Fleiss graduated from Yale University with cum laude for her BA in 2005 before continuing to Harvard Business School.
The Rent the Runway they created has eliminated the boundaries of the traditional fashion world. This platform offers women the ability to rent high-end clothing for a one-time event or just to try a new look.
Rent the Runway now has locations in major cities in the United States and has more than 300 designer partners including Giamba, Derek Lam, Carven, and Vionnet and offers more than 3,500 different styles.
The New Breakthrough by Jennifer Hyman and Jennifer Fleiss
Rent The Runway began as a place to borrow high-end designer clothes to use at important party events, but now the company has grown so that it also rents out everyday clothes and launches subscription services for loyal customers. This service is called Rent the Runway Unlimited and allows users to rent as much designer clothing as they want for a fee of $ 150 per month.
Although customers are allowed to borrow as many pieces as they want for a month, to maintain the balance of the stock in the store, customers are only allowed to rent four items that can be taken at once. This is perfect for someone who likes designer clothes but can’t always commit to buying.
How does Rent The Runway Unlimited work?
Tenants can explore online or go to one of the shops to find items they like. The store center is located in Union Square New York and other branches are spread across many cities in the United States. For those who do not live near one of these stores, they can choose four items online and send them directly to their homes. This site also displays reviews from customers and shows you how women with similar size to yours look before deciding to rent the clothes.
Benefits of Rent The Runway Unlimited that Founded by Jennifer Hyman and Jennifer Fleiss
Even though the company started by lending clothes for the party, Anushka Salinas, Chief Revenue Officer at Rent the Runway, said there was also a high demand for work clothes and they used Rent the Runway 120 days per year.
Salinas said when the company saw an increase in demand for office clothes they expanded their office clothing choices by up to 250 percent and even partnered with WeWork to include Rent The Runway drop-off boxes in offices in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington DC, Chicago, and Miami.
Salinas also said that borrowing rather than buying is a more sustainable choice. “Our customers want constant variation and novelty, without guilt if they contribute to the waste of fast fashion that ends up in a landfill”
In the era of social media where repetition of clothes is something that is not desirable, the idea of Jennifer Hyman and Jennifer Fleiss by creating rent the runway is a good way to keep customers’ appearance fresh, without feeling guilty about consuming endless clothing and accessories.
