Ralph Lauren launches first rental subscription service

By

Robin Driver

Published
Mar 3, 2021

Iconic American fashion group Ralph Lauren is seeking to tap into changing consumer behavior with the launch of The Lauren Look at its Lauren Ralph Lauren brand, the company’s first subscription apparel rental initiative.

 
According to the New York-based company, The Lauren Look is the first ever fully articulated rental model to be introduced by a luxury brand. The service aims to be a new channel through which customers can experience and engage with Lauren Ralph Lauren, before ultimately shopping the brand.
 
Starting at $125 a month, subscribers are able to access a constantly changing range of Lauren Ralph Lauren apparel, including dresses, pants and tops. Pieces are accompanied by suggestions from stylists on how to wear them.

Members curate their own closet from the most recent Lauren collections and can even prioritize their favorite pieces before receiving their first shipment. Once they have finished with the clothes, they can choose to either send them back and have them replaced by other pieces, or purchase the threads they just can’t let go of at exclusive members’ prices.
 
“Consumers today are taking a different approach to experiencing brands and building their wardrobes,” explained Ralph Lauren president and CEO Patrice Louvet in a release. “The closet of the future will include a mix of new seasonal fashion, unique customized pieces and wardrobe staples, alongside pre-owned and rented clothing.”
 
As well as adapting to the more fluid relationship currently being established between consumers and their wardrobes, The Lauren Look will also serve as an opportunity for the company to generate direct customer feedback and gain a better understanding of the market.
 
Furthermore, the initiative provides Ralph Lauren with a channel through which to respond to growing consumer concerns with issues of overconsumption in the fashion industry.
 
“The Lauren Look allows us to explore an entirely new model tapping into the growing focus on the sharing economy and revolutionizing how we look at fashion consumption,” said the company’s chief innovation and branding officer, David Lauren. “Launching with Lauren, our most widely distributed and accessible brand, is a testament to the growth we see in this space and will help us further anticipate the evolving needs and makeup of our consumers’ future closet.”
 
As part of its efforts to slow consumption and reduce clothing waste, Ralph Lauren also specified that The Lauren Look clothes that reach their rental cap will be donated to Delivering Good, a non-profit that provides people impacted by poverty with new and nearly new merchandise.  
 
Along with resale, fashion rental has grown rapidly in popularity in recent years, with platforms such as Rent the Runway, Stitch Fix and Le Tote all carving up their piece of an increasingly lucrative market. 

Subscriptions to The Lauren Look are now available through a dedicated platform, exclusively in North America.