Party season has arrived and, with this, comes the exuberance of dressing up. This winter, ‘rent-event-repeat’ leads the way, courtesy of rental platforms.
The rise of rental platforms is no surprise. They’re fashionable and functional; benefitting your creative freedom, finances and the planet all in one. Combining both trends and tech, fashion rental platforms are offering us contemporary co-ords, designer dresses, accessories, and even wedding attire at the click of a button – and for a fraction of the retail price.
As the best rental platforms extend their services to also include complementary postal, dry cleaning and a 24-hour return policy (in case your items don’t fit), the flurry and fervour of festive dressing has become simpler than ever.
Whether you’re aiming to try out your favourite brand’s latest collection or are looking for a one night fling with a seductive designer dress, here’s where to rent your partywear this winter.
Best For Variety: By Rotation
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With a community of over half a million ‘rotators’, By Rotation is the largest fashion rental platform on the planet. Launched in 2019 by ex-investment analyst, Eshita Kabra, who sought to bring the sharing economy to the fashion industry, it was the first rental platform to reach the UK market and ultimately paved the way for all fashion rentals found today. With tens of thousands of items to scroll through, and designers ranging from Reformation and Ganni to Molly Goddard, Prada, and Dior, partywear never looked better. A colourful and exciting array of the latest items as well as older seasons and core styles await. Additionally, as a peer-to-peer service, By Rotation offers a variety of sizing and silhouettes to fit a range of body types.
Best For Event Dressing: Hurr
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The life of winter lies in the night, and Hurr is here to dress you for it. Affording Hollywood glamour – no sequin spared – Hurr offers all things eveningwear, from sultry gowns to striking mini dresses at a fraction of the usual price tag. Launched by Victoria Prew in 2019, content is refreshed weekly meaning the 130+ brands and retailers available are continually expanded and updated with the latest styles and silhouettes. Loewe and Burberry are two of the platform’s most-rented brands, making Hurr the perfect place for adding luxury to your looks too. Impressively, Hurr was also the first rental platform to achieve certified B Corp status, in 2022.
Best For Luxury: Net-A-Porter
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As rental continues to prove itself as a mainstay for Gen Z and Millennial shopping habits, some of the biggest forces of fashion are turning their attention towards them. Just yesterday, Net-A-Porter, the international e-commerce platform with an audience of over nine million, launched their 24-hour rental edit in partnership with Hurr and By Rotation. This collaboration follows the success of the e-commerce giant’s resale service from 2021 and their repair service (UK only, launched 2023), and forms part of the brand’s larger Net Sustain goals. Over 100 styles from Net-A-Porter’s partywear edit such as designer dresses, bags and shoes can be found on them, meaning those items sitting in your basket or on your wishlist can be yours – for the night. Fashion rental is already worth hundreds of millions of pounds, and is only set to soar over the next few years; now it’s easier than ever to join in. The clothing one-night-stand has never looked more luxurious.
Best For Winter Weddings: My Wardrobe HQ
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My Wardrobe HQ is our one stop shop for a winter wedding wonderland. Whether bride, maid of honour, or guest, Harrods’ rental service is set to deck you out from head to toe. Loved by A-listers such as the perpetually-fashionable Alexa Chung, My Wardrobe HQ is leading the way with its catchphrase ‘rent, event, repeat’ – advice we’ll be following all winter. Gone are the days of buying a designer dress for one event only; with the daily rental service, fashion can follow you onto the dancefloor for as little as £11 a day. Harrods has also recently launched a subscription service where you can rent either two or four items a month before swapping them for the next, affording freedom of choice if you have multiple events on your social calendar.
Best For New Season Pieces: Selfridges Rental
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As the flurry of yellow bags grows denser on Oxford Street, you know you’re closer to the hottest new fashion releases and collaborations that can always be found at Selfridges. Since 2021, the London-born, global retailer has been offering rentals of their leading brands and labels, each selected by their team of expert buyers. Source inspiration from Selfridges’ impressive shopping edits and store windows, and then whisk away a Vivienne Westwood, Coperni, Mirror Palais or Prada for a few days with their rental service.
Best For Vintage: Cercle
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In case anyone needed convincing that vintage fashion truly never goes out of style, Cercle is proving just how versatile and timeless older designs are. A beautifully-curated online archive that also functions as your very own wardrobe; eternal silhouettes, prints, and fabrics amalgamate on the platform, available to arrive at your door within a mere one to two days. Renting is simple, however Cercle also offers a try on service including bookable styling sessions at their ‘l’appartement’ in west London, where a personal edit awaits. Inspired by the nomadic lifestyle of founder Coco Baraer Panazza, Cercle encourages a fashionably minimal approach to style and promotes community in the fashion industry. It also receives an extra green point too, as it sways away from any semblance of fast fashion’s incessant collection drops and helps to keep older items of clothing in circular fashion, reducing waste.
Best For Cult Contemporary: Rites
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In trendy east London, on Broadway Market – a street that comes to life every weekend with local producers and creatives – lies Rites Rental and Resale. Available to shop both online as well as at their boutique store, Rites cultivates a generous variety of cult favourites, from Self-Portrait to Aje and Ganni. Offering a complimentary postal service (delivery time is not included in your paid rental period) and returns, Rites also takes care of the dry cleaning fee and damage costs up to £50 – so all you need to do is order, wear, and enjoy. Pop into the store to try items on for size or to browse the hand-selected, novel designer pieces where Gucci and Alexander McQueen await. From contemporary chic to antique accessories, Rites is the east London haunt for covetable and environmentally-conscious women.
Best For Sets And Coords: Loan The Look
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With Loan The Look you can strut on trend into any event for the winter – from the viral, feather trim silk trouser and shirt sets, to power suits and bold jumpsuits. Specialising in offering full looks as well as individual items and accessories, Loan The Look acts as an online wardrobe simulator brought to life. Browse featured designers such as De La Vali or event edits where birthdays, weddings, and even ski trips are covered. Time to ‘pick, pose and pack’.
Photo credit: NET-A-PORTER
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