Customers checking out on Altuzarra’s website can now hit a “Borrow” button instead of “Buy”. Today, the American fashion brand is launching clothing rental in partnership with P180, the retail innovation firm that took a minority stake in the business last month.
Photo: Courtesy of Altuzarra
The team at Altuzarra is eyeing rental as a new revenue opportunity and a way to push full-price sales, says president Marta Lastra. In a statement, founder and designer Joseph Altuzarra says it’s a “digital experience that elevates how clients engage with our collections”.
The offer is powered by Caastle, a white-label rental technology platform that’s previously operated rental for brands like Vince and Maje. Customers who choose to rent Altuzarra items will be taken to the brand’s portal on The Ensemble; here, they can rent pieces at a fraction of the full cost for 14 days before they either return or choose to purchase. All logistics are handled by Caastle.
“It’s a first step in the purchase cycle,” says Jessica Dvorett, Caastle’s SVP and global head of growth. “Rental is a way of experimenting and usually, [the renter is] buying it.”
Rental and resale have emerged as tools for brands to appeal to new customers, as well as to gain data on products like fit and longevity and to move inventory without resorting to markdowns. Altuzarra’s entrance into the rental space was first arranged when P180 invested in the company. P180 was founded this year by Caastle CEO Christine Hunsicker and Brendan Hoffman, the former CEO of retail companies including Wolverine, Vince and Lord & Taylor. The firm was launched to introduce new ways to monetize luxury brands; so far, it’s also invested in Elyse Walker.
Photo: Courtesy of Altuzarra
P180 — and Altuzarra’s Borrow — come at a time when independent brands are looking for options and new ways forward. It’s been a particularly challenging year for online luxury retailers, with the fallout of Farfetch, the shuttering of Matches and Yoox Net-a-Porter’s pending sale to Mytheresa. Consolidation is also happening at department stores, as Saks intends to buy Neiman Marcus (which owns Bergdorf Goodman), pending approvals.
This landscape has made it more difficult for independent brands, who are left with fewer options in wholesale partners, and can be burdened by the heavy costs of operating direct retail. Altuzarra, which doesn’t disclose annual sales, was founded in 2008 and was previously tied to Kering from 2013 to 2020, when eponymous founder Altuzarra bought back his stake in the company. It’s been 100 per cent privately owned until P180’s minority investment.
Photo: Courtesy of Altuzarra
Rental is already part of the brand’s mix: it’s worked with clothing rental company Rent the Runway since 2021, and doesn’t intend to pull inventory to focus on its own channel. But bringing more options to rent closer to the fold, and still without needing to take on the logistical challenges, is a new way to further invest in the direct-to-consumer model and drive sales. “In terms of the logistics, we’ve got that down,” says Dvorett. “You can extend the earning potential and profitability of the garment to drive profitable growth.”
P180, under the new arrangement, is also taking more pressure off of Altuzarra to do everything at once, as independent brands today need to do: with Caastle, it leads digital marketing and e-commerce, as well as the related day-to-day digital responsibilities. The Altuzarra team, in turn, will be free to concentrate on product design, wholesale accounts and store openings — the next of which is slated for Palm Beach at the end of this month. “It’s about partnering with someone that can drive that part of the business, and the team, Joseph and I are going to be able to focus on how to grow the Altuzarra brand aligned with our overall strategy,” says Lastra.
