London – It’s the summer of club fashion.
British fashion brand Jigsaw, a favorite of the Duchess of Cambridge, is entering the world of circular fashion by teaming up with rental and resale platform My Wardrobe HQ.
Jigsaw is taking a leap of faith by developing a circular model that allows customers to rent and subscribe to brand collections and resell any of their own items.
Jigsaw’s mission is to put £50 million of pre-loved stock back into circulation. In the UK, 13 million pieces of clothing end up in landfill each year. With this new work, Jigsaw has attracted attention by combining itself with the resale platform Arizona Moses, Poppy and Chloe Delevingne, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s wife Carrie Johnson married in 2021 in embroidered gowns by Christo Costarellos.
“With the secondary market growing 11 times faster than the primary, it makes good business sense to explore remarketing; that’s how customers want to shop,” said Jigsaw CEO Beth Butterwick.
Jigsaw is taking a leap of faith by launching a circular model.
UMIT SAVACI / Courtesy of Jigsaw
Butterwick wants to make customers happy wearing their clothes again, and Jigsaw’s in-house research shows that customers value their products and keep them for years.
Jigsaw’s core demographic is middle-class Britain, but with a bohemian aesthetic closer to brands coming out of Denmark than Notting Hill, which is why activating with MWHQ opens up the brand to a new audience.
In the past two months, Tommy Hilfiger has joined the rental race by linking up with MWHQ in June to bring the UK 22; And this month, Tommy joins Rotaro, the cult rental site that works with JW Anderson, Rixo, Rotate Birger Christensen and more. “We are committed to working directly with our brands to enable the circular economy for their customers,” said Georgie Hyatt, founder and CEO of Rotaro.
The British high street is joining rental services at a time when most luxury designer brands are available on rental platforms.
While there is no strong appetite to join high-street rental services, the up-sell aspect makes it more attractive to loyal customers and new buyers.
And Other Stories has partnered with rental marketplace Hurr on a curated selection of brand collections. “We love the sustainability aspect of fashion rental and look forward to making our collections accessible to a wider fashion-loving community,” said Lena Sohakqvist, Managing Director of & Other Stories.
For Burberry, the circular economy looks different – partnering with the British Fashion Council to continue to support creative communities in the UK through their ReBurberry Fabric program, an exercise in maintaining the brand’s strong heritage and British visibility.
Burberry donates more than 12,000 meters to more than 30 fashion schools and universities in the country.
Caroline Rush, chief executive of the British Fashion Council, said: “One of the BFC’s priorities is to encourage the industry to move towards a circular fashion economy, supporting excellence in fashion design.”
