Rent The Runway Introduces A New Design Collective

Rent the Runway (RTR) introduces limited editions from new designers. Participating at this run will be from Atlein, Ronny Kobo, Marina Moscone and Toccin.

Plans are for top designers to partner each season with Rent the Runway. Designs will be available for a limited time. Management expects to reflect industry trends. It is called RTR Design Collective and started in 2018.

The new group joins existing Design Collectives which includes Jason Wu, Prabal Gurung, Thakoon and Drexel Lam among others. The members of the Collective Design actually design the clothes, Rent the Runway takes care of the manufacturing and marketing. At the first RTR Design Collective in 2018, Lam Wu and Gurung were in high demand as new designers. Over the years new designers joined the collective and today Rent the Runway has 20 designers-partners.

As RTR expanded the program the company looked for what the designers were known for and tried to fill the demand of customers. Each of the designer’s design between 10 and 15 styles per season as part of a long-term collaboration. These new designs will be double exposed through their own line and the RTR Design Collective.

RTR customers want to rent is different than when they want to buy. When she wants to rent, she often wants more color and print. RTR will show her the type of prints that are well received and those that do not work. “Our success is based on color, we have the hemlines and necklines that our customers gravitate to” said Sarah Tam, chief merchandising officer of Rent The Runway.

The brands get a percentage of every unit RTR produces and in addition RTR pays designers a revenue share. After a couple of months if the item may decelerate in demand and the Collective will ty to maximize the longevity of the item by adjusting the price.

The RTR Design Collective produces outerwear, knits, dresses, and pants. Some brands, like Moscone will produced dressier items. Each of the designers work on a collection for six to nine months. It is important to note that customers experiment all the time. For instance, Martina Moscone features luxurious fabrics while the wife and husband team Tocci Collectives features garments with statement sleeves, sequins and prints.

Marina Moscone produces her designs in Italy and New York, however the RTR Design Collective is designed by her and then RTR works with manufacturing partners to produce the garments.

POSTSCRIPT: Rent The Runway has gone through many changes – but the focus on serving their customers with the latest fashions and new, wearable designs makes this e-commerce venture very exciting. The company was funded by Jennifer Hyman (CEO) and Jenny Fleiss at Harvard Business School in 2008. The stock went public in October 2021 and has only five physical stores in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and Chicago. Since the pandemic the company has shown restraint in its human resources in order to be profitable soon. Its sales volume has jumped and we could see a profitable future soon.