Social fashion rental platform By Rotation bags €2.7 m investment
UK-based peer-to-peer fashion rental platform, By Rotation, has secured €2.7 million in seed funding.
Launched by Eshita Kabra in 2019, By Rotation is bringing a new proposition to the retail market – one that reflects a move away from fast fashion and excessive consumption to one that focuses on sustainability and community. The platform already has a VIP fan base, including Lady Amelia Windsor, Camille Charriere, Stacey Dooley, Nicola Coughlan, Dina Asher-Smith, Anita Rani, Katie Piper and many more. It has also collaborated with top consumer brands and organisations such as Bumble, Westfield, Guerlain, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and more.
The By Rotation social fashion rental and resale app promises a new way to consume fashion and as the only purely P2P rental player in the UK, its focus is on community, while positioning itself as a social network. Not only does it allow its users to rent (and buy) quality pieces at a fraction of retail price, it also economically empowers them to monetise their wardrobes.
By Rotation will use the proceeds of this fundraise to further build out the team, accelerate product and community development while expanding to the US later this year. The company intends to continue driving the demand for rental and resale beyond the UK.
The investment round was led by Redrice Ventures with additional investors, including Closed Loop Partners, True Global, Magnus Rausing, Bill Holroyd CBE, DL, June Angelides MBE, Dinika Mahtani (Principal at Cherry VC) and Riccardo Pozzoli.
Caroline Brown, Managing Director at Closed Loop Partners, said: “By Rotation offers a beautiful solution for today’s fashion consumers that merges the best of social media, peer to peer commerce for a modernized rental & resale experience. The result is an elegant platform that re-inspires shoppers to build communities around the products they love while keeping them in use longer. This is a great model for the future of commerce.”
Tom March, the founder of lead investor Redrice Ventures, said: “By Rotation’s P2P focus allows for an obsessive commitment to serving its community. The result is a super loyal family of renters and lenders with the highest standard of user-led quality control. Above all, what truly binds this purpose-driven community is a shared thirst for joy – there is a deficit of hope out there, so time for ‘Rotators’ to spread the joy”.
