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§ Public · New York City, NY, USA
Rent the Runway is a technology company.
Rent the Runway offers a rotating wardrobe of designer apparel and accessories online. Its core "Closet in the Cloud" model enables members to rent and return a vast selection of styles, transforming fashion into a flexible, subscription-based service. Users refresh their wardrobe without ownership.
Jennifer Hyman and Jennifer Fleiss co-founded Rent the Runway in 2009. The inspiration arose in November 2008 when Hyman, a Harvard Business School student, saw her sister's costly one-time dress purchase, suggesting luxury item rentals. She shared this insight with Fleiss, leading them to launch the platform in November 2009.
Rent the Runway serves a community seeking designer fashion for daily wear or special occasions. Its mission is to empower women to feel their best, offering a seamless way to experiment with personal style. It aims to expand its role as a foundational element of the circular economy, offering multiple engagement avenues for designer fashion.
Rent the Runway has raised $655.4M across 11 funding rounds.
Key people at Rent the Runway.
Rent the Runway was founded in 2009 by Jennifer Hyman (Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer) and Jennifer “Jenny" Fleiss (Co-Founder).
Rent the Runway has raised $655.4M in total across 11 funding rounds.
Key people at Rent the Runway.
Rent the Runway is an e-commerce platform that enables women to rent, subscribe to, or buy designer apparel and accessories, pioneering the "Closet in the Cloud" concept to make high-end fashion accessible and sustainable.[2][8] It serves fashion-conscious women seeking affordable access to designer styles for everyday wear, events, and more, solving the problem of high costs and overconsumption by offering rentals at a fraction of retail prices while promoting a circular economy through reuse and resale.[1][2][3] The company has shown growth momentum via key pivots like the 2014 Unlimited Subscription launch, which shifted to recurring revenue and higher customer loyalty, alongside expansions into plus-size options (2013), physical stores (2014), and monthly subscriptions (2016).[1][5]
Rent the Runway was co-founded in 2009 by Harvard Business School graduates Jennifer Hyman and Jennifer Fleiss, inspired by Hyman's sister Becky's expensive wedding dress purchase during Thanksgiving 2008, sparking the idea to rent designer items instead of buying them.[1][4][5] The duo validated the concept through market research, a cold email to designer Diane von Furstenberg for advice, and a pop-up shop on Harvard's campus in April 2009, where excited student reactions confirmed demand.[3][5][6] They launched the online platform on November 10, 2009, from New York City with $1.8 million in seed funding from Bain Capital Ventures, quickly gaining traction despite early challenges like designer partnerships and logistics.[1][3][7]
Rent the Runway rides the sharing economy wave alongside Airbnb and Uber, applying it to fashion by disrupting the trillion-dollar industry's buy-and-discard model with tech-enabled rentals launched in 2009.[2][4] Timing was ideal amid rising sustainability demands and e-commerce growth, as consumers embraced access over ownership for high-value items like designer clothes.[1][3] Market forces like fast fashion waste and economic pressures favor its circular approach, influencing the ecosystem by normalizing subscription wardrobes, inspiring resale platforms, and pushing designers toward rental partnerships.[2][5][8]
Rent the Runway will likely deepen its circular economy role, expanding resale, subscriptions, and AI-driven personalization to boost retention amid economic volatility.[2] Trends like sustainability mandates and Gen Z's rental preferences will propel growth, potentially evolving influence through global expansion or tech integrations like virtual try-ons. This builds on its foundational disruption, keeping high-end fashion democratic and wardrobe revolutions alive.[1][8]
Rent the Runway has raised $655.4M across 11 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $125.0M Other Equity in March 2019.
| Date | Company | Round | Lead Investor(s) | Co-Investor(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 20, 2020 | EdSights | $1.6M Other Equity | — | Harry's, Allbirds, Bonobos, Kairos Ventures, Lakehouse Ventures, The Fund, Warby Parker |
Rent the Runway was founded in 2009 by Jennifer Hyman (Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer) and Jennifer “Jenny" Fleiss (Co-Founder).
Rent the Runway has raised $655.4M in total across 11 funding rounds.
Rent the Runway's investors include Bain Capital Ventures, Sara Araghi, Bam Ventures, Company Capital, Fung Capital, Liza Landsman, Temasek, Jack Ma, Bob Sauerberg, Highland Capital Partners, Kleiner Perkins, Fidelity Management & Research Company.