Silje Lübbe worked for several fashion houses—including Armani, Harvey Nichols, and TopShop—before starting New York-based online runway rental company Nova Octo in 2018. The company was born of her desire to create a boutique stocked with one-of-a-kind, expertly crafted dresses, which couldn’t be purchased off the rack. She wanted a place where fashion conscious, socially responsible women could borrow rather than carelessly waste money—and garments themselves.
“I want consumers to see that style and substance can coexist,” Lübbe says. “Renting a dress versus spending on a garment that you’ll only wear once allows the lifecycle of these exquisite garments to extend. It’s wasteful to buy a dress to only wear once and then condemn it to the back of your closet until it eventually ends up in a landfill,” she says.
Norwegian-born, Lübbe’s innate Scandinavian penchant for sustainability and simplicity propelled the company’s creation, “with a mission to bring sustainability to event dressing and encourage women to understand the value of these beautiful garments and the impact the fashion industry has on our environment,” she says.
THE ITEM
Nova Octo has an archive of women’s current and vintage couture pieces—many of which were one-offs created just for the catwalk.
The collection includes evening dresses, separates, and jumpsuits, as well as handbags and clutches. Designer names read like a who’s who on a Hollywood red carpet—Carolina Herrera and Oscar de la Renta, Saint Laurent Rive Gauche, Valentino. And frocks are arranged by dress code—black tie, black tie optional, cocktail, smart casual, casual—which takes the guesswork out of what to wear where.
The typical rental period is four days—dresses are received on the first day and returned on the fourth. The company works with skilled tailors across the country, so if you give them accurate measurements ahead of time, temporary alterations can be made to the hem and straps when possible. They’ll also let you work with your own tailor if you wish. Appointments are also available at their TriBeCa showroom seven days a week for those who are local.
PRICE
Pricing depends on the item itself and ranges from $300 for the likes of a silk-printed Prada mini dress to $3,500 for a Giambattista Valli Couture tulle gown. But when you consider the retail prices for these items are $1,800 and $35,000 respectively, the fees seem bargain based.
DESCRIPTION
“Our client is very often a first-time renter because she’s never had access to the level of product that she’s used to,” Lübbe says. “There are pieces in our collection that were created by the design house’s namesake—any fashion fanatic can truly appreciate wearing a gown that Oscar De La Renta worked on himself. I don’t know of any other company within the sharing economy that offers an assortment like ours,” she says.
Nova Octo’s current lineup includes just over 55 different designers. And while you might want to buy the item you rent, pieces in their archive are not available for purchase. “I want to create a season-less archive of exquisite design; preserving these pieces for years to come. Eveningwear is the one category in fashion that is not particularly trend driven—a beautiful dress is a beautiful dress,” Lübbe says.
WHAT’S THE GOOD?
Nova Octo’s motto is “caring about doing good while looking great,” and they stand by it. “To be sustainable in fashion isn’t always about ethical sourcing. So, what can you do? Don’t buy things you don’t need; don’t buy into trends; seek quality, well-made items that will last and that you’ll wear in your everyday life,” Lübbe says. “That’s where a company like ours comes into play. It’s not about the money for our client; it’s about being mindful.”
Guilt-free shopping here means every time you borrow one of their pieces, the company donates 15% of the proceeds from the rental price to one of four partner charities, each reflecting Nova Octo’s values of living a mindful, conscious life without harming the planet.
These four partner organizations comprise the Elephant Crisis Fund, which stops the killing and trafficking of elephants; Robin Hood, an organization that fights poverty in New York City; Girl Rising, a global campaign for girls’ education and empowerment; and Hudson River Park Friends, an independent nonprofit dedicated to the completion, care, and enhancement of the Hudson River Park in New York City.
Or, you can opt to contribute to another cause that’s meaningful to you.
WHAT’S NEXT
“We’ll be celebrating our one-year anniversary in a few months,” Lübbe says. “As a new business, we’re just excited to continue to grow, expand our archive, and most importantly the opportunity to educate our clients.”
https://www.barrons.com/articles/good-company-nova-octos-socially-responsible-fashion-01554377524
2019-04-04 11:32:00Z
CBMiYWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJhcnJvbnMuY29tL2FydGljbGVzL2dvb2QtY29tcGFueS1ub3ZhLW9jdG9zLXNvY2lhbGx5LXJlc3BvbnNpYmxlLWZhc2hpb24tMDE1NTQzNzc1MjTSAWVodHRwczovL3d3dy5iYXJyb25zLmNvbS9hbXAvYXJ0aWNsZXMvZ29vZC1jb21wYW55LW5vdmEtb2N0b3Mtc29jaWFsbHktcmVzcG9uc2libGUtZmFzaGlvbi0wMTU1NDM3NzUyNA
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar