A "Love Letter" to Sharing
If you know anything about me, you know that I love denim, particularly denim in the form of jeans. Skinny or boyfriend, high- or low-rise, light or dark wash, distressed or not, I love them ALL! I don’t care if it’s 1000° outside, I will wear denim jeans every day of the week. All that being said, you can only imagine how excited I was when I came across this article: “‘Worn by Many but Owned by None’: Ganni and Levi’s Launch a Rental Denim Collaboration” by Brooke Bobb (2020) for Vogue.
I know what you’re thinking... a rental denim collection?! Yes! A rental denim collection! Ganni, a Denmark-based brand on the forefront of sustainability, launched a project called Ganni Repeat last year in its home country. With Ganni Repeat, customers could rent out various styles for up to three weeks. The project was so successful that they’ve now decided to come all the way to America and partner with Levi’s “for a rental-only capsule collection of upcycled denim made with vintage Levi’s 501 jeans” (Bobb, 2020, para. 2). P.S. If you know anything about Levi’s, the 501 is the jean to have – it’s amazing (but you may want to size up because they are 100%, not one tiny bit of stretch, cotton). Affectionately named “Love Letter,” Bobb (2020) states, “the idea is for the wearers of these pieces to connect to those who wore them before and to share their own story with the community of renters” (para. 4). Prices starting at $55 for a week-long rental, customers can choose to rent as many pieces as they’d like for one to three weeks at a time. The items are shipped using reusable RePack material and are “thoroughly cleaned...and stored for up to 72 hours before becoming available to rent again” (para. 2).
“Responsible consumption is more important than ever. The shared economy gives consumers the opportunity to participate in fashion without requiring the same long-term commitment.”
Perhaps the most exciting part about these garments is that consumers can use their smartphones to learn more about the pieces they’re wearing. Working with an agency called SharpEnd and Near Field Communication technology, wearers can “tap their smartphones against the back patch found on the garment and unlock the journeys of the jeans, tops, and shirtdresses” (para. 4). Renters are then encouraged to post about the garments using the #GanniGirl hashtag. As Bobb states, “think of it as ‘The Sisterhood of the #GanniGirl Traveling Pants” (para. 5). The teams at Ganni and Levi’s believe that “storytelling and sustainability” will draw customers to this collection (para. 5). Well you know what, I definitely agree and will certainly try to get my hands on a part of this collaboration.
Bye for now,
McGee