Save money and the planet with Dress Rental NZ.
The dress rental business is booming in New Zealand. With thousands of girls wanting something special for occasions like school or uni balls, graduations, weddings and work events, it can be unsustainable to buy something new each time.
That’s why Grace Davies founded her very own business, Dress Rental NZ, to address the demand for good quality, on-trend dresses for special occasions. This way renters can help their wallets but also the environment and look good whilst doing it!
Billie spoke to Grace about Dress Rental NZ to discover a little more about her Gen-Z run business.
Tell us about Dress Rental NZ and how it came to be?
I started this a few years ago and casually rented dresses through facebook and instagram, eventually I created my own website and here we are today.
How does it work?
Basically someone can make a booking through my website, we send the dress out 3-4 days early ideally, on overnight courier. If the dress arrives and it doesn’t fit then the renter can send it back for store credit. Otherwise after they have worn the dress they return it the next day in the provided return postage bag or drop it back.
What types of dresses does Dress Rental NZ offer, and how do you stay updated with the latest fashion trends?
Social media, especially tiktok and instagram help me to stay up to date with new trends. It seems like there are new aesthetic trends coming out every week!
What size range do you offer?
6-14 and definitely looking at extending the size range in the future.
Why a dress rental company? Is there a big market for it in NZ?
I had wanted to start a business for some time and decided that a dress rental business would be a great way to dip my toe in the water. Starting my own brand when I began, I felt was a bit risky and I didn’t want to be left with a heap of unsold stock. The market is definitely growing, but competition is fierce as more businesses join the market. I have noticed I am getting more rentals for work events as well which has been interesting.
What items are the most popular on the site?
It changes with the season and whichever brand/style is trending, right now Alemais and With Harper Lu are super popular. I would say Ruby, Bec and Bridge and Paris Georgia are the most consistently popular brands that we stock.
What sets you apart from the other rental sites?
Definitely the variety of styles we offer and hard to get brands. I am always looking for the next dress everyone wants to get their hands on!
Where do you source all the dresses from?
Mostly straight from designers, sometimes I have to hunt down sold out dresses on Depop or Designer Wardrobe.
What’s important to know about dress rental in general?
I think the process is fairly self explanatory, I would maybe just emphasise returning garments on time as it really helps us out if something has back to back bookings. As well as being careful with expensive garments that don’t belong to you. Overall most of our customers are super careful with our pieces and lovely to deal with.
How do you ensure the quality and cleanliness of the dresses in your inventory?
Dresses are either dry-cleaned or hand washed between rentals, I also sometimes spray them with disinfectant. If there are marks and faults we do our best to disclose these on the product page of our website.
In what ways do you promote sustainability in your dress rental business, considering the environmental impact of the fashion industry?
This is super important to me! Definitely by encouraging girls to rent instead of buying new reduces waste. NZ Post, our courier carrier, is also completely carbon neutral. Additionally I take good care of my garments and either sell or donate them if they can no longer be rented.
How do you handle last-minute requests or urgent customer needs, especially during peak seasons or special events?
I try to stay available on my instagram/email/site chatbot to respond to last minute customer requests as we can often do same day pick-ups. If the garment has to be posted out we can do this but can’t always guarantee it will arrive in time so we recommend booking postal orders at least four working days out from the day of your event.
What trends do you foresee in the dress rental industry?
I am looking at starting a brand and renting custom designs. It would be cool to see other dress rentals doing the same thing and I think it makes a lot of sense as we can see what's trending and gaining traction within the market.
