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This is an excerpt from ReWear of MEGA’s September 2025 issue
Fashion brings joy to many people. It’s a form of personal expression that gives color to the necessity and obligation of dressing up for life and its many special events and occasions. However, it cannot be ignored that fashion as in industry has bee increasingly under fire for its negative impact on the environment. Every year, textile production releases 2 billion tons of greenhouse gas into the atmosphere—much more than international flights and maritime shipping combined. Out of 100 billion clothes produced in a year, approximately 60 billion are discarded. Around 5% of landfill space are discarded clothes, while polyester, one of the most commonly used fabrics, can take up to 200 years to decompose. And those are just a few of the horrifying numbers that reveal fashion’s dark side: behind the bright lights and glamour lies one of the world’s most polluting industries.
In light of the news of overconsumption of natural resources and overproduction, the unfair labor practices of the fashion industry, how can we, in good conscience, still enjoy fashion and dressing up?
Fortunately, there is a shift underway. More and more people are asking, “What if fashion could be both glamorous and responsible?”
Enter rental fashion, a growing industry that allows people to experience style without the guilt of overconsumption. Once a novelty, rentals are now considered as a practical solution for modern wardrobes. It’s a means to extend the lifespan of clothing—which significantly reduces its carbon, water, and waste footprint—curbing fast fashion demand, and giving us access to pieces that we thought unattainable.
A NEW ERA OF RENTING STYLE
Once, renting clothes felt like a compromise. Something you did when you couldn’t buy. Now, it feels like the smarter, more sustainable and glamorous choice. Fashion rental services have taken off globally, with platforms such as Rent the Runway and HURR normalizing and making it chic to borrow rather than buy. Now, Filipino creatives and entrepreneurs have brought in the concept of rentals and have adapted it to the local tastes and culture. For Gen Z and Millennials, who are constantly on the look out for ways to balance their love for fashion with the growing eco-anxieties, renting offers novelty without the guilt of waste.
Whether for weddings, galas, travel, or even for the simple desire to look fresh in every Instagram post, rentals answer a growing need: stylish, sustainable and flexible fashion.
In Manila, four pioneering platforms: Vestido, Rotacion, RNT, and Continuiti are leading the way, each with its own take on what it means to dress sustainably while keeping the joy of fashion alive.
Read more about Manila’s leading clothing rental platforms Vestido, Rotacion, RNT and Continuiti in MEGA’s September 2025 issue now available on Readly, Magzter, Press Reader and Zinio.
Photographed by LYNDON ASUNCION. Fashion direction ROKO ARCEO. Art direction TROY NONATO. Makeup MIZ RAFFY. Hair MATT LEDESMA. Model TAKI SHIMADA
