John Lewis launches ‘dress for hire’ service so customers facing the cost of living crisis can RENT clothes for three weeks before returning them

• The rental clothing market is expected to be worth £2.3billion by 2029 
• ‘Dress for hire’ service involves customers paying to rent item for up to 20 days
• They did a similar scheme with furniture 2 years ago and sold out in 48 hours

When John Lewis launched a trial two years ago allowing customers to rent furniture, almost its entire collection was hired within 48 hours.

So in the spirit of reusing and recycling, the retailer is trying the same trick again with a new rental service – and this time a new wardrobe is up for grabs.

John Lewis is aiming to win a slice of the booming rental clothing market, which is expected to be worth £2.3billion by 2029.

The ‘dress for hire’ service, being launched today, involves customers paying a fee to rent an item – perhaps for a special occasion – for up to 20 days.

The ‘dress for hire’ service, being launched today, involves customers paying a fee to rent an item – perhaps for a special occasion – for up to 20 days

Marks & Spencer similarly launched a dress rental service last winter. It comes at a time when shoppers are cutting back their spending on clothes amid the cost of living squeeze, and as research highlights the environmental impact of fast fashion.

John Lewis, which hopes to encourage ‘a more sustainable way of shopping’, is partnering with rental specialist Hurr, an online platform that allows users to rent a Chanel minidress for £51 or a Balenciaga bag for £130.

The platform, which works with a large number of designers and fashion chains, also allows individuals to make extra cash by renting out their own designer pieces. On the Hurr website, Prada is one of the most rented luxury brands with an average retail value of £1,200, but an average rental price of £100.

Notable advocates of the dress rental trend include Carrie Johnson, who opted to hire her wedding dress when she married Boris Johnson last year. The designer dress, which was reportedly rented for £45, would have cost £2,870 to buy.

In 2020, John Lewis launched a similar partnership allowing customers to rent furniture including bed frames, bar stools and statement sofas, with prices starting at £17 a month for a desk or chair rented for a year and rising for larger goods. And earlier this year, the retailer announced its subscription service for rented children’s clothes. It allows parents to hire up to seven items at any one time, which can then be swapped for a new design or bigger size.

The latest scheme, which will loan a range of brands currently available at its department stores, comes after John Lewis’s half-year results showed the cost of living crunch is affecting customers’ spending patterns. 

In 2020, John Lewis launched a similar partnership allowing customers to rent furniture including bed frames, bar stools and statement sofas, with prices starting at £17 a month for a desk or chair rented for a year and rising for larger goods

Pippa Wicks, John Lewis’s executive director, said: ‘John Lewis Rental allows our customers to experiment with fashion they love without it having to cost the earth.’

The minimum rental fee is £20 and customers can browse the collection online and choose to rent an outfit for four, eight, ten or 20 days. They arrive with a return bag and pre-paid label and are sent back to Hurr, which will have them dry cleaned.

John Lewis said research shows the UK buys more clothes per person than any other country in Europe and that the wider fashion industry accounts for 8-10 per cent of annual global carbon emissions.

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