Lola Gown offers a dress renting service for the fashion forward woman who embraces style with sustainability, writes Meera Murugesan
THE small showroom has racks of evening wear neatly displayed in a corner. Even from a distance, one can see the varied styles, colours and embellishments that mark the dresses that Lola Gown has to offer.
There are dresses in a multitude of shades, from sunflower yellow to sizzling red and in designs that celebrate every woman’s choice — from flirty and feminine to downright, all out sexy. Embellishments such as sequins, beads, lace and feathers add just the right amount of “bling” to each design.
It’s hard to imagine any woman not wanting to have one of these ensembles in her wardrobe. And she can, for a price and for a limited period of time, for Lola Gown is a dress rental service for women looking for a suitable gown for formal events or special occasions.
The brainchild of Law Na Na, a blogger and fashion enthusiast, this service pretty much takes away the dilemma of hunting for “that perfect dress”, a common challenge for most women whenever they need to look their best for an occasion. Law, a Sarawakian and her business partner and close friend, Isabelle Lee, decided to start the dress rental service when they realised that just like them, many women purchase a dinner dress that is often worn only once or twice before languishing in the cupboard, putting to waste the time, effort and money that went into finding that dress.
STYLE WITH CONSCIENCE
A dress rental service, on the other hand, can fulfil that same need without the extravagant price tag and wastefulness. It offers the opportunity to be fashion forward but in a more sustainable manner given that many women may “rent and wear” the same gown.
Spurred by these ideas, Law set up Lola Gown with Lee in 2017 and since then, more and more women have become fans of their dress rental service, with customers not just in the Klang Valley but also from Johor, Penang, Malacca and Sarawak.
“We both like to dress up and style ourselves and wear something nice but we didn’t want Lola Gown to be just a boutique that sells clothes. We really liked the idea of sustainability and recycling and helping people look good on a budget,” says Law.
She adds that Lola Gown is basically a rent and sell platform so apart from renting the dresses, customers can also purchase them. The dresses are sourced both locally and from countries such as China. Lola Gown also has an in-house team which designs dresses exclusively for the brand.
Rental charges range from RM180 to RM2,000 depending on the dress, while the rental period usually covers from four to eight days. Longer periods can be negotiated for gowns that the customer needs to ship overseas for photoshoots, weddings or other special events.
Law says customers can look at the choices on offer at their website. All the dresses featured come with details on sizing and fit, and information on fabric and embellishments as well as rental charges. Once they have made a selection, a customer pays the deposit and rental charges and Lola Gown will courier the selected dress to her address. Once the rental period is over, the customer just has to courier the dress back to the company.
“If it’s an urgent request, we can even arrange to have the dress sent out on the same day of the booking although additional charges may apply, says Law.
Those who prefer to try on the dresses before selection can make an appointment to visit Lola Gown’s showroom in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur for a fitting before proceeding with rental.
SHOPPING MADE EASY
Law says most women who shop online regularly would be quite comfortable making a choice via their website. However, Lola Gown decided to have a physical showroom because some customers still prefer to try something on first before acquiring it, whether for rent or sale.
Sometimes, outstation customers who are on holiday in Kuala Lumpur drop by the showroom to see what’s on offer and try out different gowns. This makes it easier for them to confirm their selection later, once they’re back home.
“Getting a dinner dress is a very personal thing for most women and we’re happy to accommodate their different needs.”
After a certain period, past season clothing will be put up for sale at discounted prices. However, Lola Gown usually ensures that a dress has been fully utilised for rental first before it is sold off. While most of its gowns are rented out to customers who have formal events to attend like dinner or cocktail parties and weddings, during the low season, Lola Gown also offers summer dresses for rent or sale, such as clothes for a beach holiday or weekend getaway.
One of the plus points of a dress rental service like Lola Gown is that it is sending the message that one needn’t be extravagant or wasteful in the quest to look stylish.
Law adds that a dress rental service takes away the hassle of going to multiple boutiques in search of a dress and it’s also more cost effective than purchasing a new gown. It ties in well with the increasing number of young people embracing an eco-conscious lifestyle where recycling and sustainability are issues close to their heart. Law says many fashion brands today are also catering to this trend by designing clothes using recycled fabrics or coming up with “conscious lines” in their clothing range.
On its part, Lola Gown hopes to diversify by introducing designer dinner bags for rent so customers can choose both their gowns and bags at one go. There are also plans to include children’s formal wear for rent in its range so parents won’t have to invest in purchasing expensive formal clothing for children.
For more information, go to www.lola.com.my or Instagram:
@lolagown_
REDUCE YOUR STYLE FOOTPRINT
AS a consumer there are many things you can do to ensure your love for fashion doesn’t damage the environment.
1. Maintain the condition of clothing
Whenever possible, repair or mend clothes instead of chucking them into the bin. Always keep in mind that proper washing and storage of clothes will also prolong their lifespan.
2. Swap and Style
There is nothing wrong with doing a wardrobe swap with friends or family instead of buying something new. You may come across hidden treasures at no cost at all.
3. Don’t buy, upcycle
Do an audit of your cupboard once every six months and identify pieces which can be given a new look or style with just the addition of certain accessories or embellishments. An old jacket, for example, can be jazzed up with new buttons or the hemlines of a dress or skirt taken up or down for a completely different look.
4. Quality not Quantity
Buy clothing in good fabrics which are well made and will last, and look for attire in classic cuts that never go out of style. Invest in basic staples such as a good, well cut jacket, a well-fitting pair of pants or a classic white blouse, instead of buying based on trends.
5. Be Fabric Wise
Look for attire in sustainable fabrics so you know that you’re looking good without damaging the environment. Bamboo, peach silk or recycled fabrics are a great way to go.
Sources:www.goodhousekeeping.com and www.healthywomen.org
ETHICAL AND ECO-CONSCIOUS
SUSTAINABILITY is the latest buzzword in the fashion industry as more and more brands cater to the needs of environmentally-friendly millennials.
The fashion forward millennial looks for styling options from various sources, not necessarily just luxury boutiques or high street brands. They are more likely to turn in the direction of preloved clothing or brands which use recycled materials in their attire and accessories.
A growing number have even made a conscious decision to stop buying new clothes altogether because they have become aware of how wasteful and damaging “fast fashion” can be. The “buy, wear and discard” approach is highly unethical as around the world, millions of pieces of clothing end up in landfills when they’re no longer used or needed.
WRAP, the UK’s lead body on resource efficiency which released the Valuing Our Clothes report, estimates that the average lifespan for a garment in the UK is 2.2 years and an estimated 30 billion pounds (13.6 billion kilogrammes) of clothing hangs unused in cupboards. It is also estimated that £140 million (RM752 million) worth of clothing in the UK goes into landfills each year.
According to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, the average consumer today buys 60 per cent more clothing than what people purchased 20 years ago.
In comparison, each garment is only kept for half as long and about 40 per cent of clothes that are purchased by consumers in developed countries are never worn.
STYLE IMPACT
THE environmental impact of the fashion industry is huge. It can take 2,700 litres of water to produce the cotton needed to make just a single T-shirt and around 6,814 litres of water to grow enough cotton to make just one pair of jeans. The process of dyeing fabrics involves more than 1,600 different chemicals.
Sources: