NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rent the Runway, Inc. - the company that pioneered clothing rental as an essential utility in women’s everyday lives with the world’s first living closet, and West Elm, the global design and lifestyle company with a commitment to conscientious design and sustainability, announced today a partnership to make modern design accessible through the convenience of rental. Starting this summer, bundles of hand-selected West Elm textiles will be available for rental through Rent the Runway Subscriptions. Available at renttherunway.com/westelm, Rent the Runway Subscribers can select from 26 exclusive bundles of decorative pillows, throws, shams, quilts and coverlets ranging in style, print, texture and color to complete their living rooms and bedrooms. This is the first time West Elm has made products available for rent, and the first time Rent the Runway has expanded its offerings beyond apparel and accessories.
“This is a monumental moment for Rent the Runway and the sharing economy as a whole. We know that clothing is often a vehicle to help people feel confident and expressive, and this new partnership will unlock that feeling through home decor,” said Jennifer Hyman, Co-Founder and CEO of Rent the Runway.
“We are making it easier than ever for customers to discover great design for their spaces,” said Alex Bellos, president of West Elm. “Each of our 26 curated home bundles encourage subscribers to translate their playful and bold style to decorating, and allow them to experience West Elm’s original, modern products from the comforts of home.”
The partnership provides subscribers the freedom to update their homes as often as they update their closet by offering:
- Curation: Each bundle consists of a curated selection of new and seasonal West Elm textiles for the bedroom and/or living room. Bedroom bundles will include a tailored mix of a quilt, coverlet, throw or blanket, shams, and decorative pillows to perfectly dress a bed while living room bundles will include a stylish pairing of decorative pillows and/or a throw – making it easy to accessorize any space.
- Style: Rent the Runway subscribers will be able to rent the West Elm bundles as one of their rotating spots via RTR Unlimited or RTR Update. Each bundle is designed by West Elm to help customers express their personal style at home with the brand’s signature quality products including Belgian Linen Quilts, Chenille Rib Throws, and Off Center Abstract Pillow Covers. The hand-selected pieces feature textures like organic cotton, velvet, hand-spun silk, and Belgian flax linen in stone white, rosete, mineral blue, golden oak, carmine red and colorful embroidery.
- Convenience: This rental model provides RTR members with the flexibility to redesign their spaces when inspiration strikes and because members will be renting through their subscriptions, members can keep the bundles for any time period they’d like, from a couple of weeks to months and beyond. Rent the Runway also will offer subscribers the opportunity to purchase a bundle at a discounted rate.
The partnership underscores both companies’ mission to encourage sustainable living. RTR is creating a new model of dynamic ownership based on a new relationship with clothing that becomes a far superior consumption system for women, and the world, to sustainably live by. Through access and relief of ownership, RTR is powering women everyday to express themselves freely and without restriction. By doing this they can focus on owning the most important thing in their lives, themselves. West Elm is leading the industry through conscientious design that stands for self-expression, passionate creativity, and ethical standards. With 90 percent of its products designed in-house, West Elm has curated a global selection of local, handcrafted, sustainably sourced, and Fair Trade Certified products that look good and do good both at home and in the world.
Rent the Runway COO Maureen Sullivan and West Elm President Alex Bellos will discuss the partnership for the first time publicly on stage at SXSW in Austin. The panel, “Living a Rented Life,” will take place on Saturday, March 9 at 12:30pm at The Four Seasons Ballroom AB (98 San Jacinto Blvd.) and will be moderated by Sheila Marikar, writer for The New York Times, New Yorker, Fortune, and more. To celebrate the launch, RTR and West Elm invite customers on March 9 - 10 to experience the RTR Living Closet at West Elm Austin located at 1011 W 5th St #100, Austin, TX 78703. To RSVP and see the full schedule of in-store events please visit here for Saturday and here for Sunday.
Rent the Runway’s Unlimited subscription costs $159 a month and allows for unlimited access to more than 600 designers of clothing, accessories and starting this summer, home decor from West Elm. The inventory ranges from tops, skirts, pants, outerwear, handbags, cocktail and evening styles, and home decor from designers like Rag & Bone, Reformation, Brock Collection, Victoria Beckham, Veronica Beard, Levi's and West Elm. Members can keep their items for as long as they want and swap them out whenever they are ready for something new.
For more information on the partnership, visit www.renttherunway.com/westelm.
About Rent the Runway
Rent the Runway is transforming the way modern women get dressed and disrupting the $1.7 trillion global fashion industry by empowering women to rent, versus buy clothing. Founded in 2009 with a vision to build the ‘closet in the cloud,’ RTR believes that women everywhere will soon have a subscription to fashion, making apparel rental an indispensable utility while also empowering women to feel their best every day. RTR carries apparel and accessories by over 600 designer partners with options for work, weekends and special occasions. The company has built in-house proprietary technology and a one-of-a-kind reverse logistics operation to fuel the rapidly growing business and retail stores of the future. RTR has ten million members and employs over 1,200 people - 73% of whom are women and 91% are female and/or non-white, and all of whom have equal benefits across the organization.
About West Elm
Born in Brooklyn in 2002, West Elm is a global design company dedicated to transforming people’s lives and spaces through creativity, style, and purpose. We create original, modern, and affordable home decor, and curate a global selection of local, ethically sourced, and Fair Trade Certified products available online and in 100+ stores worldwide. We are a part of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) and participate in The Key Rewards, a free-to-join loyalty program that offers members exclusive benefits across the family of brands.