Selfridges To Launch Its First-Ever Designer Fashion Rental Collection

World-renowned department store Selfridges is partnering up with wardrobe sharing platform HURR to launch the its first-ever high-end fashion rental collection.

The Selfridges Rental Collection, which launches next week, will offer customers the chance to rent over 100 carefully curated pieces from more than 40 brands, including Zimmermann, Cecilie Bahnsen and Emilia Wickstead, both in-store and online.

"There's significant overlap between the Selfridges and HURR customer, who's looking for the latest trends and innovation in fashion," says HURR CEO Victoria Prew. "Renting allows customers to access high fashion at fast fashion prices. Our goal is to slow down fast fashion and remove the need to buy wear-it-once items.

"The rental collection is the perfect hybrid, providing the need for newness-that the fast fashion model relies upon-in a more affordable, sustainable way."

Each rental will be priced at a fraction of its designer RRP, and available for 4, 8, 10 or 20 days.

The new service is also proud contribution to Project Earth, a major sustainability initiative that builds on the industry-leading steps Selfridges has taken over the last ten years to place sustainability at the heart of its business.

"Alongside our in-store and online retail offer, this new service opens a new way for our customers to trial luxury fashion, while also encouraging complete flexibility - maximising opportunity and minimising waste," comments Sebastian Manes, Executive Buying and Merchandising Director at Selfridges.

With the rental and resale market driven by millennials and Gen Z at the moment, it's a savvy business move by all accounts.

This demographic's loyalty to the environment and socially-responsible businesses has already proven to be a significant factor in driving purchase behaviour, and to continue the shift towards a nation of more conscious consumers, brands need to go beyond pop-up sustainability initiatives to fundamentally change the way they do business day-to-day.

Selfridges know it well, too. The store's first rental pop-up (also with HURR, launched just before lockdown in February) went down a storm with the Instagram crowd, champions of the ever-replenishing #OOTD.

"Over lockdown, we have witnessed more demand than ever from contemporary and luxury fashion brands looking to incorporate rental into their business model," adds Prew.

"Gone are the days where renting is seen to cannibalise sales. In fact, it does the opposite - it's an additional revenue stream, part of a brands on-going commitment to sustainability and HURR also opens up a millennial audience, highly engaged in sustainability and conscious consumption."

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