GlamCorner’s Audrey Khaing-Jones on the rise of fashion rentals

While last year was one of the toughest for some fashion retailers, Audrey Khaing-Jones’ business finished the year with a multimillion-dollar win.

For a company built around renting outfits for special events and occasions like weddings and birthdays, 2020 and virus lockdowns could have been the end for the business Audrey Khaing-Jones co-founded.

But while several major clothing retailers announced their closures last year, Ms Khaing-Jones’ clothing rental business GlamCorner went from strength-to-strength.

In November, the company raised $12m in funding to help the business expand its operations and signed parternships with major Aussie brands like David Jones, Spell and Camilla.

“2020 was definitely a turbulent time for the fashion industry,” GlamCorner’s co-founder and COO Ms Khaing-Jones told news.com.au.

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Audrey Khaing-Jones began GlamCorner with her husband, Dean Jones nine years ago. Picture: Supplied.

While some categories like formal wear did decrease, growing consumer awareness in their buying habits benefited GlamCorner.

“While we saw a decrease in some categories like formal wear, this was balanced out by the increase in other areas such as maternity and above the waist dressing through our subscription box and the preloved section,” she said.

“Overall, consumers have become more savvy and conscious of their buying habits in every aspect of their lives over the past twelve months, and that has actually accelerated the adoption of circular fashion in Australia.”

Ms Khaing-Jones will be addressing how start-ups are tackling fashion’s biggest issues like sustainability and waste – something that is central to GlamCorner’s business model, at the Vogue Codes Summit on June 18 at Carriageworks, Sydney.

The online fashion rental business, launched in 2012, offers a range of international and local designers like Badgley Mischka, Bec + Bridge and Camilla and Marc, with the mission to reduce one-wear outfits bought for special occasions.

Since it’s inception, the business has expanded into other clothing categories like maternity wear, work wear and athleisure.

“Here in Australia women are realising they only wear 40 per cent of their wardrobe and that 800,000 tonnes – or 31 kilograms per person – of textile waste is dumped every year,” she says.

“I think fashion rental is no longer becoming the norm, it is the norm.”

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According to a 2019 report by Netscribes, the fashion rental industry is poised to reach $A2.57 billion by 2023. In Australia, GlamCorner is set to move to a larger fulfilment centre so they can expand their inventory to more than 50,000 garments.

On a global stage, last year Ralph Lauren became the first luxury fashion brand to offer customers the ability to rent their clothing through a $A163 monthly subscription model. Subscribers receive four pieces from the brand and are able to keep them for as long as they want, with the option to purchase at a discounted price.

GlamCorner offers a similar service. Called GlamCorner Premium, members can choose from a monthly or unlimited service where they can choose three designer pieces in each box. The prices range from $99 to $149 a month and subscribers can keep the garments for as long as they want.

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Sustainability and minimising waste is a core component of GlamCorner’s ethos. Picture: Supplied.

When it comes to the pieces Aussies want, Ms Khaing-Jones says ‘above the waist’ dressing has been a huge hit due to working from home.

“We’ve seen double the number of monthly subscription boxes containing tops and jackets,” she says. “The popularity of workwear separates has also been bolstered by our customers heading back to the office two to three days per week, with popular workwear brands including Country Road, Ginger & Smart and Jillian Boustred.”

Unsurprisingly, athleisure and casualwear have also been high-performing categories.

“We also saw a rise in athleisure and casual, with a 96 per cent increase in the proportion of monthly subscription boxes containing athleisure and casual products such as knits, with top brands including P.E. Nation and Bande Studio.”

For more information on VOGUE CODES 2021, you can visit their website here