What happens to RTR if the big name brands with multiple physical stores start renting dresses too (I don't know if they already do it or not)?
When you hit a certain age there will be 4+ weddings every summer. Women can feel very pressured at these events, because people can be real status obsessed judgmental jerks, and even worse when it's directed at a woman's appearance. On the flip side, buying a new $500+ outfit for each event isn't workable for most people.
Renting name brand fashion items is a great solution. Look killer in a unique look at every event, feel confident, spend 15% of the money.
Now, going from that, to some sort of netflix scale business... I don't really see that.
So they're not renting dresses, they're renting the dream/perception of a huge designer dress collection.
Another designer dress rental. http://frockshopchicago.com/
Though doing this online when you can't verify something fit's seems risky. Unless, you have a very common body shape.
Heaven forbid your friends see you in the same designer dress twice...
- You want a distinctive dress for an event. You don't want to be seen wearing the dress at another event. Or: you don't go to formal events often enough to justify buying a formal dress that might be out of style next time you need it. There are a lot of reasons you might not want to use a dress beyond one evening.
- Your $150 will get you the use of a dress that would cost you close to 10x that at retail.
Basically, RTR is a hack on how fashion works.
And there are a lot of physical stores that do this already, but RTR can benefit from the scale of a national client base.
On the other hand, people that like designer fashion are into it. So, they will want to get their pieces tailored for their body, because if they don't, it'll generally look meh. You can't do that if you rented it.