Who are you? Tell us about yourself?

I’m Delphina, I’m 32 and I’m a fashion enthusiast with a solid knowledge of the digital world. I learned the ropes at media agencies, firstly at Carat before joining KR Media in September 2009 to help with the creation of their digital structure. After six years in an agency I wanted something else – something entrepreneurial, to begin working in fashion and to travel.

I left KR Media in 2013 to work freelance and to plan a trip to Latin America for a few months. Before leaving, I spent seven months at My Little Paris, which was an extraordinary and very inspiring experience. I didn’t stay there because I knew that I wanted to create my own dream business! Freelance work would allow me the chance to get my foot in the door of the world of fashion by working for magazines like Another Mag, Dazed & Confused and Nowfashion, whilst capitalising on my digital expertise.

Xavier, my brother, is 24 years old and loves travelling and entrepreneurship. At the age of 20 he backpacked alone around Latin America for 6 months before finishing his law degree. Then in 2015, Xavier took a gap year to go to London and work for Easy Rental Services, a freshly launched start-up. This very enriching experience quickly sparked within him a desire to set up his own company. He is currently completing a master’s degree in marketing alongside working at Dresswing.

 

How did the Dresswing adventure begin?

In 2012 I was looking for a dress for a wedding but couldn’t find anything in the shops or in my friends’ wardrobes. I had heard about Rent The Runway, an American success story that allowed you to rent clothes. There were a few initiatives in France and I decided to try them out. My first experience was pretty disappointing; the designs were old-fashioned and not quite trendy enough. I wanted more modern collections and young designers. What was on offer didn’t seem to be appropriate.

The lightbulb moment came as I was returning from Brazil in June 2014. I fell in love with a dress that I couldn’t afford. I eventually bought it, saying to myself that I could make a profit from it if I perfected my rental idea. This dress was our first rental at Dresswing! I have a habit of always lending my clothes to friends and I’ve always found it a pleasure to share my fashion experiences. Yes, we are indeed talking about experiences!

That’s how the idea came to me of customer-supplied stock. It would be a simple way to have constantly changing and highly-fashionable collections without spending any money.

In September 2014, I shared my – still very young – idea with Fany Pechiodat (founder of MLP), who encouraged me to go with it. After that, things moved very fast.

Xavier joined the project after coming back from London in May 2015, and Orphéline, our graphic designer, in October 2015.

 

How does renting with Dresswing work?

The idea of Dresswing is to make money from what we wear little of, or don’t wear at all. You put the items you want to share online and personalise your rental conditions (price, deposit, delivery method, cleaning). Each member has a product calendar and is free to accept or refuse the rental proposition. It is also possible to sell on the site.

We also offer a concierge service for those who do not have the time or do not wish to manage their reservations. We select the clothing, stock it and take care of it on our premises. We take care of everything, from putting things online to the delivery. Each client then receives a monthly statement of the different transactions from their wardrobe.

What are you most proud of?

It might be a little too early to talk about pride; we are still young and have only been online for a few months. The road is still a long one! However sometimes when I look back, I do smile at all the challenges we have overcome.

 

What is your typical day?

All that you would expect from entrepreneurship – that is to say that there is no typical day. In the same day, we could be a financer, a photographer or a porter!

 

What have been the difficulties that you have faced?

Like lots of entrepreneurs we have had difficulties with technical development. Nothing ever happens as quickly as you would like.

 

Any advice for any young start-ups, or those who could be scared about being entrepreneurs in France?

Start-up! We are lucky to be able to be entrepreneurs in a time where there are lots of quick and practical tools to validate a business concept and make head roads. We can unite communities with one idea on a social network, create a free landing page in less than 5 minutes, create a website in a few clicks; there is an entrepreneurial spirit in France and fantastic energy for entrepreneurship.

A lot of people talk about expanding abroad for financial reasons. However before asking these questions, there is an awful lot of work. Let’s just say we would be happy when we will be able to ask ourselves these kinds of questions. Don’t do things the wrong way round.

Any favourite designers?

Yes of course…Céline for handbags, APC for jeans, Dice Kayek for ultra-feminine and glamorous dresses, Valentino for haute-couture and Jule Waibel who made an extraordinary collection with paper.

 

Any resolutions for 2016?

30% of our traffic comes from mobile so we would like to be able to launch our app quite quickly.