Rent dresses when you want, like a car or a movie

Rent the Runway began eight years ago as a rental service for formal gowns, cocktail dresses and bejeweled accessories. Now the company is doubling down on its efforts to appeal to more women, more often. Today the brand is launching a new subscription service that’s just $89 a month. It’s called RTR Update, and it allows you to rent four designer pieces for 30 days. Then, you return the set and pick four new items. “We wanted to give women options to rent clothing that they can wear everyday and to cater to their everyday lives,” says Rent the Runway co-founder and CEO Jennifer Hyman. “You can rent things that are going to create options for you.”

“In October, I want to be wearing leather bomber jackets. In December, I want to be wearing faux fur, but I’m not wearing the bomber jacket anymore,” says Hyman. If you absolutely love something, there’s always an option to buy.
RTR Unlimited, the company's first subscription service (launched last year) lets you constantly rotate items in and out of your closet, keeping up to three pieces at a time. It's getting its own update; you can now get four items at a time instead of just three. Unlimited subscribers will also have the chance to swap things in and out at the RTR storefronts.

The new offering will supplement the company's other monthly subscription of $159 for four items of clothing that can be swapped out an unlimited number of times each month.

Since its 2009 founding, Rent the Runway has surpassed many of its startup peers in both size and profitability—Hyman said last year that the company had become profitable. The brand, which currently operates five retail outposts, employs 1,200 and boasts eight million members—the majority of whom are working professionals who live outside of cities. Last December, Rent the Runway raised $60 million in venture capital funding—in total, the company, which reportedly generated more than $100 in revenue last year, has raised over $176 million, according to Crunchbase.

Experts say the constant chronicling of our lives on social media, combined with the willingness to share the most personal of items, including cars and homes, has made it more palatable for people to borrow the clothes they wear. Services such as Airbnb, Lyft and Uber have gained ground in recent years, causing traditional companies to rethink their business models, too. Discount shoe purveyor DSW is considering adding shoe-rental services at its stores, while Nordstrom has begun testing tuxedo rentals aimed at younger shoppers.