Rent The Runway: Jenn Hyman (2018)

Inspiration

Jenn Hyman conceived Rent the Runway after witnessing her sister's dilemma of overspending on a dress she would only wear once. This sparked the idea of renting designer dresses, allowing women to enjoy high fashion without the financial burden of ownership. Jenn and her partner, Jennifer Fleiss, were determined to turn this concept into a reality, even reaching out to fashion icon Diane von Furstenberg for advice.

I was having a conversation with my sister about the experience of wearing an amazing dress, of walking into a party, feeling self-confident and feeling beautiful. And that's what she cared about.

--- Jenn Hyman

Their vision was to create a "closet in the cloud," where clothing could be rented and returned, much like digital files are stored online 1 2 3.

   

Challenges

The early days of Rent the Runway were fraught with challenges, from logistical hurdles to skepticism from industry insiders. Jenn and Jennifer faced the daunting task of photographing their entire inventory just weeks before launch, a task they hadn't anticipated. They also had to convince designers like Diane von Furstenberg that their rental model wouldn't harm retail sales.

We thought, of course, in this industry, there's some centralized place that takes photos of this. How ridiculous is it that every retailer would have to photograph this inventory over and over again?

--- Jenn Hyman

Despite these obstacles, their persistence paid off, and they managed to secure a meeting with Diane, who eventually saw the potential in reaching a younger demographic 4 5.