A modern day fairy godmother can be found in local-start up, Borrowed by Design. Borrowed by Design helps people find the perfect dress for a night while also rewarding the women who lend them out.
Unlike Rent the Runway, Borrowed by Design’s people-to-people business model allows women to find outfits for their specific body types and communicate with the lenders personally.
Co-owners Kat Ewing and Jennifer Bluemling said, “We’re really the only ones in the fashion tech space that offer a peer-to-peer rental platform. We are structured very similar to the Etsy marketplace, but with a rental model instead of selling. The trend of collaborative consumption and a shared economy are seeing huge success in a lot of other spaces (think Uber or AirBnB), so why not for dresses? “
Kat and Jennifer founded their company in 2014 in Atlanta with the mission of promoting positive body image among women of all ages, sizes and styles while shopping online for semi-formal to formal wear.
They wanted to create a community among the women who look for dresses to foster discussion about what stores to shop at or how to find clothes for different body types.
Borrowed by Design is an opportunity to save money on an evening dress needed for just one night. Rental dresses on the site, with borrowing fees ranging from $30-60, are usually listed for half of their original purchase price.
“Listing my dresses with Borrowed by Design was super easy, and I can’t wait for them to get borrowed!” states Eden Fletcher, first-year ECE.
The lender is responsible for dry cleaning and shipping the dress to the borrower, who pays for the return shipping. Borrowed by Design makes sure the lender receives 85% of the profit and their specified “replacement value” if their dress is damaged or never returns. This gives women the opportunity to make a return on their expensive investment in formal wear in a secure way.
Borrowed by Design has been utilizing campus ambassadors within universities like Kennesaw State, Georgia State and now Tech, to connect with young adults.
At Tech, Borrowed by Design has ignited a competition among the Collegiate Panhellenic Council’s sororities in the name of charity. Sorority sisters are quickly listing their dresses on the site because the sisterhood with the most listings wins $500 for their charity. Borrowed by Design’s competition ends on Sept. 30.
Lucy Edgar, a third-year BA works at Borrowed by Design as the social media and marketing intern. She says, “The Borrowed by Design staff is overjoyed to have Tech sororities competing for $500 for their philanthropy. We are excited to watch the friendly competition take place as more and more dresses get listed, and we are even more excited that the winning money will go to a great cause. Combining our love for fashion and philanthropy makes us extremely happy!”
Borrowed by Design is connecting lenders and consumers to make shopping for a special occasion a positive and affordable experience.
Connect with Borrowed by Design on Instagram (@borrowedbydesign), Twitter (@borrowbydesign), or on Facebook (www.facebook.com/borrowedbydesign)