Hire or buy clothing?

Two US entrepreneurs set the trend in motion when they opened Rent the Runway, a designer clothing-for-hire business in 2009. The idea was to offer women (and, later, men) the opportunity to hire a fancy outfit for several days, at a fraction of the purchase price.

The one-time hire price includes shipping plus cleaning as a complete package. Just choose an outfit, click to hire and return postage-free after the special occasion. Rent the Runway and other US rivals also offer subscription pricing, so customers can choose a certain number of everyday outfits per month at one low for-hire fee. In other words, for-hire isn't just for special occasions.

Now clothing for hire is going global. UK businesses that offer designer frocks include Girl Meets Dress. 'Customers had never hired before, so the main thing was getting them to do this', says Girl Meets Dress founder Anna Bance, whose data systems had to account for the time clothing spends in transit and in cleaning between hire periods.

In Australia, GlamCorner offers women's designer clothing for hire. The company, founded in 2012, markets via email and digital campaigns. It's experienced significant growth as more customers try for-hire clothing and appreciate the benefits.

In China, YCloset is growing as it educates the market about the benefits of clothing-hire and erases doubts about wearing clothing previously hired by others. A social-media influencer recently created a viral video in which she visited YCloset's cleaning facility, to reassure customers that any clothing they hire will be quite clean and presentable. Will consumers choose to hire more clothing or will they remain committed to buying?