Want a Designer Bag? You Can Rent One

What is it about a Chanel bag? Even I, a self-described “shoe person” who never hesitates to splurge on a pair of designer sling-backs can’t deny the appeal of a leather, chain handle flap bag anointed with that double C. I’ve long wondered what it would feel like to be a person with a Chanel on her shoulder. Someone successful, tasteful, enviable.

And although I excitedly dream of purchasing a Chanel bag (or any designer bag, for that matter) with every milestone birthday or new job, I’m not quite there yet. “Be sensible,” I tell myself, as I buy a new couch and renovate my bathroom instead.

And then, I got a visit from the designer-bag Fairy Godmother in the form of a publicist emailing to tell me about a new designer bag rental service that’s just launched in Canada. The service is called Zero Collective and it’s the brainchild of Gina Yoo. The Vancouver native started her career in finance and marketing at major consumer brands, then launched her own startup in the menswear space before working at the UK investment fund Entrepreneur First. “One of the things I noticed is a lot of Canadian talent would email me and go, ‘How do I apply for this? I really want to build a startup and I want to move it to New York or San Francisco’” she recalls. “And I thought, this is not great because Canadian talent should be in Canada building really great companies here.”

So, Yoo decided to do just that and moved to Toronto to launch a luxury designer bag rental service in an underserved market. “I really believe that Canadians deserve this,” Yoo says, noting that there’s a high appetite for designer goods. Her startup is also backed by Canadian investors including Wealthsimple founder Mike Katchen as well as early investors in Shopify and AirBnB.

Zero Collective works like this: there are two tiers of membership, Classic ($159/month), which gets you access to bags with a retail price of up to $4,500 and Deluxe ($229/month) which unlocks the elite and more rare collectible bags. Once you pick out a bag from the dozens of options on the site (which include a Fendi shopper, Dior Lady and Saddle bags and Goyard totes, to name a few) it’s yours for a minimum of 30 days. After 30 days you can exchange the bag for another or simply keep it as long as you like. Your bag arrives by premium courier (included in the price of membership) in a black shopping bag tied with a velvet ribbon.

“When I started the business, I did a lot of customer discovery,” says Yoo. She asked hundreds of people interested in this type of service about the brands, colours and styles they cared about. Now that Zero Collective is launched, Yoo continues to leverage the membership community to inform the bag selection, “Right now we’re trying to source for the winter, and we’ve done a bunch of polls of like, ‘Are you into metallics? What metallic colours? Are you into pearls?’” Yoo explains. Plus, when the team notices certain bags topping waitists, they’ll look to source multiples of that specific style.

New bags are added on a weekly basis, and Yoo and her team source the finds from “all over,” from auctions to international boutiques, private collections and wholesalers. Each bag is authenticated in-house as well as via a verified, third-party service. Plus, the bags are insured against minor wear and tear that comes with daily use, however members are on the hook for any major damage that would render the bag unrentable.

I point out to Yoo that the selection leans heavy on Chanel. I myself selected a chevron quilted, denim-blue leather Chanel flap bag from 2012. “Every Canadian girl I spoke to was like, ‘Chanel! Chanel! Chanel!’” explains Yoo. She’s simply listening to her consumers and delivering exactly what they want.

Please note that what I’m about to say is by no means sound financial advice, but the “girl math” on Zero Collective is solid. A year of a deluxe membership will run you about $2,800—less than most high-end handbags on the market today. Yoo breaks it down even further: “A deluxe membership is about $7 a day.” So, for the price of a takeout oat latte each day, you too can carry a four-figure bag on your shoulder.

Want to buy the bag outright to keep forever? You can do that, and a portion already paid in membership fees will be applied towards the cost of the bag. “My investors asked if I’m pricing it too low,” says Yoo, “I said no, one of the pillars of this company is affordability.”

Yoo has plans to expand Zero Collective to include high-end jewellery from brands like Van Cleef & Arpels and Hermès. But for now, she’s enjoying the positive feedback from the community, which has doubled since launch at the time of our conversation. “The one thing that everybody keeps saying is, ‘Thank you so much for building this,’” says Yoo.

So how did it feel to finally have a Chanel on my shoulder? Great, obviously. For a month it was my near-constant companion to parties, meetings and trips. If someone complimented it, I’d immediately tell them about Zero Collective and no doubt lengthening their waitlist.

We often hear that designer bags are a (beautiful) investment. And they are. But what if they were also something we could access when we wanted, and traded in when the excitement faded? What if the luxury bag world was more collective, circular and inclusive?

Canada might be a little late to the luxury rental game, but we’re off to a very good start. With that, I’m off to select my next bag—I’m thinking a Prada Cleo is perfect for party season.