The Airbnb of fashion is from Alicante

This is the simple premise three entrepreneurs in Alicante”Airbnb fashion“It is such an application that allows individuals to rent their clothing to others and is designed specifically for these people clothes usually purchased for special occasions and they are rarely reused. An initiative they call for Symbia and with that, they also want to do their part to rationalize current fashion consumption and help the environment.

behind this initiative Celia Martínez; his sister, Claudia Martinez; and friend of both, Marta PuyolHe started preparing the project in 2022. The initial idea first emerged from them. “I had a wedding, a friend of mine had another wedding, and I suggested buying the dress in half to save,” the lawyer recalls.

At that time, he was taking the exam to become a judge, and when he failed the exam, he decided that he did not want to continue. stung him entrepreneurial mistake and his sister “was encouraged, as she always wanted to start something of her own.” And with her, her friend Marta.

Martínez is aware of the success of apps like Wallapop or. vintage This place, where thousands of second-hand clothes are sold every day, has made things easier for consumers. Symbia’s target audience is now clearer renting other people’s clothes.

Moreover, social networks They also helped in another way. “Before if you repeated a suit at two weddings with different people nothing was happening. Most people don’t want to do this anymore because image on Instagram or the incumbent network,” says the Symbia founder.

Added to all this environmental component and increasing awareness of the problem of excessive fashion consumption, one of the most polluting sectors As the entrepreneur recalls, the planet.

Price

Just like on Airbnb, users publish the clothes they want to rent through the application and determine the price. “Our advice is not to exceed this.between 20% and 30% of the purchase price to make it attractive,” explains Celia Martínez.

Symbia does not receive any percentage of this amount and is funded as follows: attached services. And the person who decides to rent one of these teams must pay the rental fee as well as the rental fee. dry cleaning, transportation and compulsory insurance.

Once picked up, the tenant decides whether to keep the item unless they pick it up on Thursday or Friday to prevent fraud. If so, you have it. 21 days to use, before returning it to its original owner. As expected, women’s party dresses are mostly featured on the app right now, but some men are starting to get excited too.

Martínez is completely convinced by the business idea. “A few years ago no one thought they would do this rent your house to strangersor I was leaving picking up a strangeras are Blabacar. “The same thing happens with second-hand clothes; buying vintage clothes has become a stylish thing now,” he says.

In this context, do not forget that fashion chains are also starting to get involved in some of the organizations dedicated to them. second hand clothes, like he already did Zara’s, through second-hand service. Like the others Adolfo Dominguez, In fact, they were encouraged by them. rent. “The future of fashion involves changing consumer behavior patterns,” the entrepreneur insists.

Currently three partnersto continue their related work, Although they are hopeful that they will be able to focus on this as the app business begins to improve. “Our goal is to contribute to the planet and the pocket by reusing clothes that are in other users’ closets, which sometimes have a high price, cause serious damage to the environment and never return to the closet after a single use. .to be used”, is the summary of the mission of their initiative.