A retail revolution. That’s how Harper’s Bazaar describes the closet sharing approach of today’s new shopping destinations. And among the disruptors featured in the article, which appears in the 150th anniversary issue of the US magazine, are Flont, Armarium and VillageLuxe, three forward thinking businesses that are among Carmen’s Portfolio of brands.
All three companies have tapped into the rise of non-traditional retailing. With experience-based purchases increasingly trumping the ownership of possessions, especially among millennials, Flont, Armarium and VillageLuxe are part of the new sharing economy, offering customers luxury on loan.
Closet Sharing as featured in Harper's Bazaar's November 2017 issue.
Launched earlier this year, fine jewelry specialist Flont allows customers the ability to borrow pieces from global brands and artisan designers alike. Members can chose to rent items to a given value every month, from companies such as Bulgari and Cartier, with an option to keep the pieces they love at an exclusive members-only price, or for those who perhaps want something special for an event, or simply to wear on a whim, pieces can be rented weekly.
New York City-based Armarium provides member access to couture and ready to wear runway pieces. Customers can rent from the company’s carefully curated collection on an as needed basis, via its website or showroom or from one of the company’s trunk shows or pop-ups. The Armarium ‘Style Brigade’ is also on hand, a team of professional stylists ready to help customers create an overall look around their chosen runway piece.
Founded by Harvard graduate Julia Gudish Krieger, VillageLuxe also offers customers the chance to rent luxury fashion, but from the closets of some of fashion’s most stylish. With vintage, couture and ready to wear clothing and accessories languishing unworn in many closets, Krieger saw an opportunity to make those items work harder for their owners, giving them a new lease of life, and now makes them available to rent to members via the VillageLuxe website.
Not only do the services offered by these three companies reflect a marked shift in our shopping habits, they also offer a sustainable solution to our quest for the new. And in this digital age, where an ever changing wardrobe is an Instagram essential for many, luxury on loan makes this indulgence a more realistic possibility.
Technology is also the driver behind Tagwalk, mentioned alongside the closet sharing pioneers in the Harper’s Bazaar article. Dubbed a secret weapon for stylists, the Carmen-backed company is the first runway image key word search engine. Available to the wider public as well as industry professionals, Tagwalk references every image from the womenswear and menswear collections across the four fashion capitals, as well as accessories, models and street style, allowing users to search for key looks and trends or build personal wish lists by their own chosen critera.
Related Reading: Ready For The Rental Age
Read more about Flont, Armarium, VillageLuxe and Tagwalk here.