Rental Red-Carpet and Designer Fashions for All at Boudoir
Tuxedo rental is a fashion rite of passage most men go through, but Stella Gukasyan thought women would be interested in renting special-occasion clothes—if the gowns and dresses were high-fashion labels typically seen at red-carpet events.
Gukasyan debuted Boudoir Dressing Showroom on March 25. The Glendale, Calif.–based company rents handbags and jewelry as well as clothes from fashion houses Marchesa, Herve Leger, Lanvin and Balenciaga, according to Gukasyan, the creative director of the company. She contends that she is bringing celebrity styling to women who are not on the A list.
“I wanted to bring something exclusive to women who cannot afford high-end fashion,” she said. “They can wear high-end designers without paying too much for it,” said the novice fashion entrepreneur.
Boudoir Dressing Showroom offers styling consultation as well as rentals. Gukasyan estimated the rental fee is 10 percent of a garment’s or accessory’s retail price. Customers must apply to the company’s e-mail (boudoirinc@yahoo.com) for a place on Boudoir Dressing Showroom’s client list. There are no application fees. Gukasyan declined to state how many people were on her client list. She also declined to tell how she finds her high-fashion clothes.
Boudoir’s concept is not entirely new. Seattle-based Avelle launched in 2004.Originally called Bag Borrow or Steal, the company charges a membership fee, which allows its members to rent the latest luxury handbag and accessories. The company— and its business strategy—made a cameo in the first “Sex and the City” movie. New York–based Rent the Runway is a similar business and allows its members to rent designer fashions.
However, only a handful of these businesses exist because there is a high barrier to entry, according to Michelle Wendell, founder and owner of Chic Little Devil. The Los Angeles– based company provides studio service, lending clothes to wardrobe departments of films and TV shows, as well as offering styling, public relations, e-commerce and rentals of some clothes to the public—mostly women going to red-carpet events.
Chic Little Devil could offer the rental business only after developing relationships with celebrity stylists and fashion houses, Wendell said. Also, there is a short shelf life to the great majority of these gowns. After a short period of time being worn on the redcarpet circuit, gowns and dresses worthy of Halle Berry and Mila Kunis are sold on her company’s e-commerce site at www.chiclittledevil.com. “We have to sell on the e-commerce operation,” Wendell said. “Otherwise, it becomes a thrift store.” —Andrew Asch
