PHOTO: SABYASACHI/INSTAGRAM
KARACHI: The ever-evolving fashion industry has long since burnt holes in women's pockets. Bridal dresses and traditional formal wear in particular are lavish endeavours and yet those clothes are scarcely worn. Not every bride can afford to splurge on extravagant bridal dresses from established designers.
Over the last few years, online communities on social media have come up with an innovative solution. Individuals have started renting out formal wear and bridal dresses.
PHOTO: SABYSACHI/INSTAGRAMPlatforms like Soul Sisters Pakistan provide women the opportunity to put to use existing formal wear by renting it out to other individuals in need, saving them from the hassle of making tedious journeys to warehouses and designers in search of their own Sabyasachi or HSY-inspired pieces for the big day. In recent years, the idea has expanded to established individuals, start-ups and other small organisations.
Facilitating rental dresses
'Closet Official,' a start-up based in Karachi, set up a website to facilitate the buying and selling of traditional formal wear on rent. The website has grown increasingly popular over the past few months and has expanded operations to Lahore and Islamabad as well.
Co-founder Ehtisham Mashkoor told The Express Tribune that nearly 450 dresses are available on his website. The dresses are delivered to customers through Bykea.
Over 200 dresses have been rented out in the last four months and earnings of Rs150,000 for those who rented out these dresses have been collected through them.
PHOTO: PRIYANKA CHOPRA/INSTAGRAMThe website features bridals, traditional semi-formals and formal dresses. The minimum rent for the more casual dresses is Rs650 while the rental fee for bridal dresses ranges from Rs40,000 to Rs45,000. The rent for used designer dresses is usually charged at half the price of the original purchase.
According to Mashkoor, 80% of the orders are received from Karachi. Initially, most of the website's traffic came from Defence Housing Authority and other posh areas, but an increasing number of orders are being received from Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Federal B Area, North Nazimabad and North Karachi as well. Mashkoor is satisfied with the business so far and maintains that soon they will launch men's wear and women's accessories on their website as well.
How it works
PHOTO: FILMFAREThe website conveniences both, those looking to rent and those putting up their dresses for rent. The start-up keeps these dresses for three months and fixes a base price for those who have given their dresses for rent.
The renters are facilitated through a form on the website and pictures of the dresses are sent through Facebook in order to assure the renter of the aesthetic and quality of the dress. The start-up ensures that all dresses are inspected and dry-cleaned before they are rented out.
While in Karachi, the start-up relies on ByKea, in Lahore the dresses are delivered through a courier service and in Islamabad the company has private riders for this purpose.
From the comforts of her home
PHOTO: INSTAGRAM/#VIRUSHKAMehnaz Sajid, a housewife, identifying the need for rental dresses, entered the market four years ago from the comforts of her home near Safoora Chowrangi. While speaking to The Express Tribune, she said she began her venture with a mere Rs80,000 investment, initially purchasing the dresses herself.
Her collection entails bridal dresses priced in the range of Rs25,000 to Rs80,000 which are rented out for three days at a meager cost of Rs6,000 to Rs8,000 depending on the dress. Some of her regular customers include boutiques and salons which rent out these dresses for photo shoots and the like.
PHOTO: BRIDES TODAYSajid also offers matching accessories such as jewellery and clutches. Her limited investment allows her to earn Rs20,000 to Rs30,000 monthly. She wishes to expand the operations and invest in a studio of sorts as her home space is not big enough to accommodate the growing venture. She contacts clients and maintains services through Facebook and Whatsapp, with the business gaining traction through the reviews of satisfied customers.
Recent ventures
Uprenting.com is another website, recently established, through which clothes can be rented. The website establishes a direct connection between renters and takers.
It features images of the dresses available along with information of the person renting the dress.
The one wanting to rent, has to complete four stages before they can avail the service. They first select their desired dress, then negotiate the duration of the rent based on which the price is decided by the website.
PHOTO: INSTAGRAM/SABYASACHIFinally they deposit the predefined amount in a third party account. The last step, however, is what makes this enterprise unique for it assures that the one renting is satisfied with the service and the one who has rented out the dress is guaranteed payment.
To each their own
While for many, renting formal dresses as opposed to going through the tedious process of getting them made is a viable option, for others it is more about the sentimental value that the dresses offer. Some enjoy the process of going to the dressmaker, picking out their patterns, colours, craft work and so on, while yet others like the idea of developing their own unique style and letting their personality shine through carefully crafted designs.
PHOTO COURTESY: TWITTER @deepikapadukoneFatima*, a member of a Facebook women's group said that she would embrace the idea of renting out wedding clothes but perhaps not her bridal dress. She did however have some technical concerns. "My only hiccup with such a service would be tailoring the rented dress to body specifications. Each dress would have to undergo constant tailoring modifications to adjust to the body type of the person renting it," she said adding that altering the dress accordingly might weaken the fabric over time.
Sana* another member of the same group felt that a rental bridal dress was not for her. "Your wedding dress should reflect your unique personality and style. Would like to get one custom made and not something off the shelf for the same reason. If I'm out of budget I'd prefer getting it done by a karigar [local craftsman] over getting a designer piece".
PHOTO: PINKVILLAThe trend of renting out traditional formal wear is still a recent one but has been gaining traction slowly. For some however, the attraction of having designed their own spectacular outfit still holds strong. Yet others prefer to opt out of the grandiosity of conventional weddings altogether and feel like simplicity is the best route for them. Brides aren't all cut out from the same cloth and fortunately for them the fashion industry seems to be moulding itself accordingly by catering to different preferences.
*Names have been changed to protect anonymity
Published in The Express Tribune, February 6th, 2019.
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