Ladies, we’ve all been there.
You get invited to a wedding or a fancy-do party, and you’re excited, you want to make an impression. You head out and buy an expensive designer dress. You look stunning, you have a great night and for once you are glad to be tagged in photos on Facebook. But what about that dress? It now sits alone in the back of your wardrobe, all but forgotten.
If you’re like me, these types of dresses have begun to build up, only to be worn once… yet every time your eyes glance over them as you decide what to wear, you feel a sense of guilt as, once again, you slide into your comfortable everyday jeans.
And it’s not just your dresses… shoes, hats and other fashion pieces are worn once and left to take up space in women’s wardrobes around the world by women who don’t want to rehash old outfits, but for some reason can’t find the heart to sell them. If only there was a way to put these valuable fashion items to use once again.
In 2016, Bernadette Olivier, Kym Atkins and Genevieve Hohnen launched The Volte in direct response to this problem. They describe it as the Airbnb of fashion. A peer-to-peer marketplace where users can lend and borrow designer fashion, from dresses and shoes to hats, menswear and other fashion accessories. The first of its type.
To be sure, The Volte does compete with sites like Glamcorner and Rent the Runway, however these sites lend out dresses that they themselves have bought and own. The Volte differs in its peer-to-peer function. Essentially this means anyone, women like you and me, can list their dress on The Volte and start earning money from it. It also means from now on, I can simply hire a dress for a party, potentially saving hundreds of dollars, and I will no longer feel guilty about throwing it in the back of my closet, never to be worn again. Instead, when you’re done with it, all you have to do is post it back to who you borrowed it off.
This peer-to-peer business model is typical of the rising ‘Sharing Economy’, made famous by the likes of tech giants Uber and Airbnb. This new economy, dominated largely by startups, is an answer to consumers calls for choice, convenience and the big one, affordability.
And that’s what The Volte provides. For instance, you can rent a $30,000 Armani gown for $2000 for four days, or a Camilla kaftan with a retail value of $599 for $90, or a $5000 Dior handbag for $199.
There’s no way I would be able to buy a $5000 dollar handbag for my friend’s wedding, but $200 makes it way more accessible!
The user base is growing month on month and a quarter of borrowers have already ordered two or more times. So, dig out those dresses, put them into The Volte and watch them start earning their value back!
