Why renting garments you may’t afford CAN prevent cash

It’s a new record. I had five compliments in one day about my handmade black floral dress by Molby The Label, an ethical, independent British brand I’ve just discovered. That evening, at a wine-tasting event, I wore a sleek cream Bella Freud waistcoat with breezy navy trousers, and this outfit attracted yet more appreciative comments. A few days later I attended Wimbledon in a low-cut, tangerine Whistles frock. It was a style and shade outside my usual comfort zone, yet I felt amazing. All of the above were accessorised with a statement tan crossbody bag by luxe French label Jacquemus, another compliment magnet.

I spent the summer merrily swishing around town in a wardrobe that was way above both my pay grade and my style credentials. And I don’t own any of it. No, I haven’t become a shoplifter – I’m trying out the long-term fashion rental service from Hurr. Late last year it become the first of the online rental platforms to allow you to hire items for a month or longer. Then in May its Flex Pro pass launched, offering £225 worth of rental credit for £125, which you can spend across a 12-month period. The longer you rent a piece for, the cheaper it is.

That orange Whistles dress costs £53.79 for 30 days, while the Jacquemus bag – which retails at around £775, an amount I could never justify spending on arm candy – is £149.86 for a month.

Fashion rental is entering a new era. In the five years or so since its inception, it has become known for occasionwear – typically you’d rent a fabulous dress for a weekend event, returning it on the Monday. Carrie Symonds famously rented her wedding dress in 2021, when she married then prime minister Boris Johnson, spending just £45 on hiring a Christos Costarellos gown from My Wardrobe HQ. Now rental platforms are listing jumpers, jackets and jeans alongside party dresses – the idea being that rental is for life, not just for Christmas (or weddings).

‘We’re calling it rental 2.0 – the future is flexibility and elevating your everyday,’ says Hurr’s founder Victoria Prew, 31. ‘Renting multiple-use items is really popular. How great is it to have a new Reiss blazer for a month that you can wear to a job interview, on a date night and to dinner with friends? It’s now about renting for those mini moments in life rather than big moments – what can you do every day to jazz up your wardrobe?’

Prew is definitely on to something here. I loved the thrill of opening up my package of shiny new clothes, gleefully wearing them to death for a few weeks and then sending them back before I had chance to get bored of them. We’re all guilty of leaving clothes loitering unloved at the back of the wardrobe – that dress you adored, wore on repeat for a few months, then fell out of love with. Long-term rental is a more eco-conscious way of scratching the itch.

‘It gives that dopamine hit of new things without owning them,’ says Prew, who hired a super-fashionable Dragon Diffusion basket-style leather bag for the summer, knowing she could trade it in come autumn. While renting for a month, I was also heartened by the fact that there are fewer delivery vans and less dry-cleaning involved than for shorter-term rentals.

While fashion retailers struggle, fashion rental is flying. Over the next decade the value of the global rental market is forecast to grow to nearly £5 billion. And it’s not just millennials like Prew who are on board. The average age of a Hurr renter is 25 to 39 but it’s creeping ever upwards. The platform’s oldest customer is 72, with many mature women being introduced to the concept by their daughters when they hire their wedding gowns and mother-of-the-bride outfits.

You know it’s gone mainstream when John Lewis gets involved. Its online rental platform, featuring brands such as Jigsaw and LK Bennett, launched in 2022 (powered by Hurr’s technology). While its 30-day rental option currently only makes up three per cent of transactions, the high-street store sees huge potential for growth. This autumn/winter, coats will be available for the first time, with the arrival on the site of Shrimps, the much-loved London brand that specialises in vibrant faux fur. ‘As Brits we do spend a lot of time in our coats, so this gives us a chance to switch them up and experiment with our winter wardrobe,’ says Jade Potter, innovation lead at John Lewis.

Elsewhere, luxury handbag rental service Cocoon does a monthly subscription service from £79. And For The Creators, which offers pre- and postnatal fashion, has subscriptions from £60 to hire two items per month – surely the perfect market for seasonal rental, given your bump is only there for a few months.

So everyone’s a winner with long-term rental, right? Well, to a point. Lauren Bravo, sustainable fashion expert and author of How to Break Up with Fast Fashion, uses rental but has reservations. ‘It’s still fuelling a culture where it’s a faux pas to be seen in the same dress at two different parties, and facilitating the breakneck cycle of trends rather than encouraging us to get over our obsession with newness,’ she says. ‘The question is what we do with those clothes once they bore us. Ultimately, it’s best to commit to our clothes long-term, which would make the biggest difference in terms of sustainability – if you keep a garment in active use for just nine months longer, you reduce its carbon footprint by as much as 30 per cent.’

When I ask Prew what she thinks our wardrobes will look like in ten years’ time, she replies, ‘Eighty per cent rented – joyful pieces that make you feel amazing, new brands you’ve discovered – and 20 per cent basics that you’ve bought, that’ll last you years and years.’ Expect to see more monthly (and beyond) rental subscription deals – think of it as the Netflix-ification of fashion. You might rent for the summer season, send it all back and hire anew for the autumn.

Meanwhile, I had to bid farewell to my magical month of fashion pieces, package them up and head to the post office to send them back. Naturally, I had to stand in a long queue… so I browsed Hurr on my phone, planning what I’m going to hire in the months ahead.

HOW TO MAKE MONTHLY RENTAL WORTH IT

Plan ahead 

Look at what events you have coming up and choose pieces accordingly. With autumn arriving, could a fun coat or chunky knit give your wardrobe a boost?

Go wild 

This is your chance to experiment without spending a fortune. Leave your comfort zone and try new brands, cuts and colourways. You can send an item back if it doesn’t work.

Be patient 

Getting the sizing right with new labels can be tricky. With my first Hurr delivery, four out of six items didn’t fit. But the beauty of long-term rental is that you have time to order replacements. Note that John Lewis’s rental platform has a brilliant AI fitting tool, so you can get a sense of what a dress will look like on you.

Keep it fresh 

When renting clothes for a month or more, they’ll need to be spruced up. Rather than fork out for dry-cleaning, or risk their ruination in the washing machine, use Febreze spray and be willing to spot clean.

Relax about wear and tear

I was too scared to use my Jacquemus bag at first in case my handcream leaked in it – which defeated the object of renting it. So check your rental company’s small print. Hurr offers a £7.50 damage protection policy covering repairable things like minor stains and zips. If you’re keen to properly clean your items before the end of the rental period, Hurr advises messaging the lender about specific care instructions.

hurr. illustration: ellie allen-eslor