Interviewee: Jenny Fleiss, co-founder of Rent the Runway
Rent the Runway may have broken the mold when it was born online in 2009. But how many people have the budget to shop ‘til they drop?
Not many. We all want to be the girl who gets the ooh’s and aah’s over her wardrobe.
Picture this: you’re on a budget and have been on your own (re: without your parent’s financial help) for the last few years. It’s the end of your college career. There’s graduation parties, proms, bridal showers, weddings, bachelorette parties…what’s a girl to do? Wear one dress to 18 different occasions?
Enter Jenn Hyman and Jenny Fleiss. Fast friends while going to school at Harvard University, they realized that a lot of us women have a closet full of clothes…
With absolutely nothing to wear.
‘Sex and the City’ closet fantasies aside, Jenn and Jenny came up with a solution to make available to all the 20 something women out there high fashion…and a chance to rent a dress for each occasion rather than go broke.
Jenny Fleiss claims that after many business plans, the Rent the Runway mama’s never lost motivation- they caught the entrepreneurial bug big time. They wanted to change the wardrobe mishaps of all high-fashion lovin’ girls out there, thus changing the industry altogether.
What’s more is that Rent the Runway can be considered eco-friendly- through the wonders of organic dry-cleaning and the massive fact that whatever is reused upon demand- especially the Hervé Leger dresses, which is one of the website’s top sellers. Customer feedback keeps the ideas fresh and constant, and the collaborative team headed by Jenn and Jenny seems to run like clock-work.
Rent the Runway is constantly working with the hottest fashion designers to expand their business in the ever-changing industry. “Wearing dresses to special events in our lives,” is what Fleiss claims keeps her and co-founder Jenn Hyman going. Adopted into the ‘Rent the Runway’ Closet are also accessories and even more (yay!) dresses for appropriate occasions such as: winter weddings, beach vacations, bump-friendly dresses and so much more! Please check out their list if you can- there are “this is getting serious” date dresses, and “meet the parents” dresses.
We are in love. We can’t wait to hear (and wear) more from Rent the Runway!
