#5 Reasons Why Rental Fashion Industry will Grow in India High-end designer outfits are so expensive that people are choosing to buy them less with time
By Jheal Shah
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The fashion business in India is a multi-billion dollar industry with major Indian and western-wear players dominating the market.
Ethnic wedding outfits range from INR 40,000 to several lakhs with innumerable choices for women to pick from for their super-special day.
With the consumer becoming more price and environment conscious, most new-age brides prefer to not have exorbitantly expensive outfits and are moving towards picking more easy-to-wear pieces that they can wear multiple times.
With the sharing economy on the rise, several rental companies have sprouted, disrupting the apparel market, and are now offering these high-priced outfits on rent at a fraction of the cost.
Consumers are slowly accepting rental companies and their products.
This trend is gradually picking up. People have slowly started realizing the benefits of owning less number of outfits that can be worn a number of times and are going to these rental companies to get their fashion fix.
#5 reasons why it'll work very well are as follows:
Exorbitant Pricing - High-end designer outfits are so expensive that people are choosing to buy them less and less with time. Rental companies help people take outfits on rent for only 1/10th of the actual price of the garment, therefore making it economical and accessible.
Cannot Wear the Outfit Multiple Times - In today's social media crazed generation, it is impossible to get away with wearing the same outfit to multiple occasions and having someone not notice it. If you've worn it to an important function, whether it was your own, a family wedding or even a friend's wedding, chances are that most of the people in your circle have seen it already and commented on the outfit. No one wants to be seen repeating outfits and putting up the same pictures over and over again and rental companies help fix this problem.
Hassle to Store - When you have an outfit worth several thousand rupees, you cannot store it the same way you keep your fast- fashion outfits and just keep them hanging in your cupboard. Delicate fabrics and embroidery require special packaging and storing options which are a hassle to manage every single time you want to wear it. It'll most likely be kept in storage, packed away neatly in a box and wrapped in cloth and every time you want to wear it you need to find it, unbox it, wear it and reverse the process again to ensure its safety. With houses becoming smaller and smaller in cities like Mumbai, most people do not have the extra storage space these outfits require.
Maintenance-With delicate fabrics and embroidery you not only have to store them safely but there is also a huge upkeep attached to them. From dry cleaning to ironing/steaming the outfit every single time you want to wear it, it consumes a lot of someone's time and energy. These are not even the kind of outfits you can decide on the morning of the occasion. Usually, outfits are picked days in advance to ensure that the accessories and shoes match each outfit and that it perfectly fits the owner. Since these outfits are worn so rarely, the maintenance is a huge problem for most people.
Choice -With fashion rental companies on the rise, there are a plethora of outfit options for people to choose from. From graduation party outfits to weddings and Sangeets, they have it all covered which makes it a lot easier for the buyer to shop as he/she can choose from multiple designer/ design options.
