While peer-to-peer platforms thrive on convenience and community, luxury accessories rental through services like Vivrelle take a more curated approach, prioritising brand partnerships, seamless service and exclusivity. The Vivrelle membership club has partnered with several brands that cater to high-end clientele, including Four Seasons Hotels, whereby guests can access on-site Vivrelle stock during their stay. Vivrelle also works closely with online retailer Revolve, with which it is launching a proprietary AI styling agent named Ella, designed to help shoppers complete their outfits at checkout with Vivrelle accessories.
New kid on the block Bnto is making the most of Gen Z’s “commitment issues”, with an AI-native interface and next-gen brands for the same price as Nuuly. The company utilises overseas warehouses to avoid tariffs on ‘if you know, you know’ brands like Seoul-based Andersson Bell and London-based Damson Madder.
Previously, Bnto founder and CEO Sixuan Li launched retail company Viavia as an A/B test selling the same hundreds of global brands that Bnto would eventually rent out. “We were able to observe the same user’s behaviour across different modes of consumption, and think about when you buy something, you might buy something that’s more timeless, more comfortable, or that you wear very often,” Li explains. “When it comes to rental, you might rent something that’s bolder, more fashion forward and more unique.”
Li is building Bnto as an omniconsumption platform, where consumers can decide between renting and purchasing the same products. The app’s algorithm will guide users towards the best options based on their past behaviour and price sensitivity. For example, someone who frequently rents and later buys Collina Strada pieces through the app might be prompted to purchase a pair of jeans from the brand outright, given their previous user activity. Notably, since launching rental options with Bnto, Li has seen inventory move 17 times faster and customer acquisition costs drop by 70 per cent.
Gen Z may be driving the rental boom, but the endless possibilities — Li believes rental is a $100 billion market and sees her company eventually going public — mean that multiple platforms have room for growth. This momentum represents a recalibration of how consumers think about clothing, ownership and value, with tech innovation possibly accelerating this shift. But founders across the board argue that rental is succeeding because it solves real problems. For consumers, it’s a way to experiment more and spend less. For brands, it’s a chance to build loyalty without relying on constant markdowns or overproduction. And for the industry at large, it may just be a path towards longevity in an era of faster cycles and growing climate pressures.
“A rental model allows people to have fun again,” Gunther notes. “It’s a nice compromise between pulling back completely and spending a tonne of money on something that you’re not going to wear often. That’s pretty important in this environment.”
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