Luxury fashion rental platforms Hurr and My Wardrobe HQ both unveiled pop-ups in two of the most famous department stores in London.

The global online clothing market is expected to reach $1.8bn (£1.4bn) by 2023 according to Allied Market Research as environmentally conscious consumers become more aware of their carbon footprint and turn to borrowing rather than buying more stuff.

Sustainability is much more than just a buzzword now as the fashion business comes second in the list of most polluting industries, not far behind oil, according to the United Nations.

In response to this, department stores Selfridges and Liberty London are bucking the trend and leading the way in the fight to reduce the impact fashion has on the environment by offering customers the chance to rent their favourite fashion pieces with the launch of pop-ups with Hurr and My Wardrobe HQ respectively.

Both online platforms offer customers the option to rent designer fashion and accessories at the fraction of the retail price – however, their rental models differ slightly.

My Wardrobe HQ – in Liberty for six weeks – offers a fully managed service. Founder and chief executive Sacha Newall said the idea is to take the hassle out of renting for both brands and individuals.

“Renters know that every item has been handled by us, it will get to them on time, in perfect condition and will be authentic. Our unique ‘rent or buy’ model also means that if renters love something and want to make it part of their core wardrobe, they can buy it,” Newall said. 

Former Topshop executive Jane Shepherdson joined as chair of the rental company last November after seeing first-hand how “fashion is killing the planet” she told the Financial Times.

“I’ve visited a lot of supposedly sustainable brands. But a lot of them are not really sustainable. They’re just adding to the pile,” Shepherdson added.

During the six-week pop-up, fashion-conscious customers can rent items from the likes of Valentino, Chanel and Alexander McQueen with the option to buy at a discount if they fall in love with a certain piece. 

Newall added: “We are at peak stuff syndrome, most people are looking to streamline their lives, valuing experiences over things. With renting, fashion lovers get to constantly change their look at a fraction of the price and without the guilt of endless garments going into landfill.”

The Hurr pop-up in Selfridges is running for longer at six months but offers customers a slightly different model.

The peer-to-peer only rental service allows lenders and renters to liaise with each other – “like the Air BnB of fashion rental” – meaning customers would be responsible for their own drop-off, pick-up or postage and cleaning, however, while the Selfridges partnership runs they can use the pop-up as a drop-off and collection point for rented items.

Pieces include dresses, accessories and outerwear from Gucci, Mara Hoffman, Ganni and Rixo. The pop-up space will include the world’s most interactive iMirror by Nobal technologies which allows customers to combine their online and offline journey.

Hurr was founded by Victoria Prew won the London Luxury Think Tank Sustainable Start-Up award.

Hurr co-founder and chief executive Victoria Prew said: “Hurr is based on creating accessibility and a route to luxury fashion for a mainstream market. We’ve seen consumer behaviours change significantly in recent years as we move towards access-based models for houses, holidays and cars and now we are seeing the same with our wardrobes.

“I couldn’t think of a better partner than Selfridges to help us translate the Hurr experience into stores.”

Both pop-ups will be showcasing some of the best designer pieces available and will be on rotation continuously. If successful, this type of shopping option could become more permanent.

The luxury end of the market seems the ideal area to trial the new to the UK in-store rental proposition and both these partnerships showcase the famous department stores’ ability to move with the times, be innovative, on-trend and something that others will follow suit.