Investing in Vivrelle’s Sustainable Fashion Model
At PLUS, we’re consistently spending time in and around the world of fashion — whether helping our clients launch their own brands, structuring partnerships between brands and our clients, or investing in the space — and have seen a shift in the way consumers shop. With tailwinds from our increasingly mobile and minimalist lifestyles, a sustainability-related desire to stop putting so much stuff into the world, and perhaps most significantly, record-high inflation and an uncertain economic outlook, we have been closely watching the rise of “asset-light shopping.” Consumers across a range of socioeconomic statuses (but concentrated in the youngest age groups) increasingly view their closets as fluid — they buy an item from a thrift store, re-sell it on Depop, use the proceeds to buy their next item on Poshmark, and continue this highly circular pattern that sustains the lifespan of clothing and gives customers access to brands they often can’t (or don’t want to) buy brand new. This also provides them with ever-changing wardrobes and allows them to experiment with different trends without having to buy fast fashion, which has become the antithesis of sustainable shopping.
In our work on this thesis, Vivrelle rose to the top as one of the fastest-growing and most beloved platforms making asset-light shopping more accessible and genuinely fun for consumers. Vivrelle is a luxury designer handbag and jewelry membership club that offers members the ability to borrow items with monthly plans ranging from $39 to $279 (price tiers correspond to different levels of access to their inventory). With 600% growth since its Series A 1.5 years ago and thousands of customers on its waitlist, as well as best-in-class unit economics and customer retention, we have been highly impressed by Vivrelle’s business model.
While investing in apparel has traditionally been challenged because trends are hard to predict and keep up with, Vivrelle mitigates this by building its brand off of longstanding luxury mega-brands and inviting their customers to swap among brands regularly. They don’t have to rely on driving deep customer loyalty and repeat purchases of a single brand — we actually credit the diversity of options on their platform as a big reason behind their retention rates. Vivrelle is providing exactly what today’s most powerful consumers are looking for: a massive amount of choice and a massive amount of flexibility, all done sustainably.
We are thrilled to have invested in Vivrelle’s $35M Series B alongside 3L, Origin Ventures, and our clients, Lily Collins and Nina Dobrev. We’re excited to support Blake, Wayne and the rest of the Vivrelle team as they continue their impressive growth.
