Do you believe in life after love? We do, it's why we've joined forces with Designer Wardrobe as the exclusive launch partner to Sell Later on DW, a circular function that allows you to opt-in at the time of purchase and re-sell your Max pieces at a later date. We caught up with DW co-founder Donielle to chat all things circular, and how together we’re tackling one of the biggest challenges facing our industry. 

 

 

Let’s start off with you telling us a little bit about yourself and how you came to be the co-founder of Designer Wardrobe?

My love for fashion and the beauty industry started at a young age when I left high school to become a hairdresser. I was involved in every fashion week for 9 years, as well as hair styling the photoshoots for some of New Zealand's top designers.


I’ve always been passionate about sustainability in the industry. I had the idea of DW in the back of my mind for years, but I didn’t launch Designer Wardrobe until I was 25 (in 2013). At the time, I was going through thyroid cancer and needed to sell some beautiful designer clothing as I wasn’t sure how long I would be off work and needed to pay the bills. 


I started DW as an FB group and worked on growing the community while I was off work unwell. About six months later when I was better and back at work, it started thriving. I knew it was time to take it to the next level and that’s when I asked Aidan Bartlett, who is my co-founder, to join me on the journey and start a Marketplace.

 

For other entrepreneurs reading this. When did you know that it was time to make a complete change and go full time on DW? How did you set yourself up for success?

I knew we were ready to go full-time on Designer Wardrobe when the business started to grow beyond what I could manage while still working a full-time job. I made the decision to leave my job and focus solely on the business when I realised that it had the potential to become something much bigger than just a side project. Aidan also took the leap and left his job. He was actually my partner at the time, so this was a big risk for us, but for DW and our vision, it was worth it! 


We made a plan that I would work from home as a hairdresser once a week and looked into business accelerators so we could take DW to the next level. We were accepted into a program called Lightning Lab where we learned so much, grew DW quickly, and at the end of the three-month program, had the opportunity to pitch to 100 investors, it's here where we met our current investors who have been on the journey with us since!

 

We know you’re a firm believer in waste not want not when it comes to your own wardrobe. How much of your personal style and experience with shopping has been built into Designer Wardrobe’s Marketplace?

My personal style and belief in sustainable fashion have both definitely influenced the direction of Designer Wardrobe. My bestie and I (whom I met when we were both hairdressing at 16 years old) always shopped secondhand. We sold our old clothing to buy more and loved to lend each other pretty dresses for a night out. The way we looked after our own wardrobes gave me the idea for DW. We often wished there was a place to do it all! Most Thursday nights, I would have friends over in my wardrobe picking what to wear on the weekend. I wanted to create a platform where people could buy, sell, and rent designer clothing and accessories in a way that was both affordable and environmentally conscious. The marketplace has become a place where people can find unique and high-quality items that they might not otherwise be able to afford. I'm proud that we've been able to facilitate this in a sustainable way.

 

We’re so excited to be the launch partner of Sell Later on DW and offer our customers a way to keep their wardrobes circular, can you begin with explaining why you chose to partner with Max?

We chose to partner with Max and launch Sell Later on DW because we know that Max believes that circularity is the future of fashion. It's been so inspiring to watch the Max journey in sustainability. We have been watching from afar and were so impressed! I knew that Max would love a solution that makes it easy for people to extend the life of their once-loved items and also reduces the amount of waste generated by the fashion industry.

 

We love that we’re creating a lighter fashion footprint together. Re-sell for Max customers lets them be in control of where their pre-loved items end up once they’ve worn and loved it and are ready to part ways. How easy is it to list items for re-sell?

Listing items for sale on Designer Wardrobe is super easy. With just a few clicks, you can create an account, upload a photo of your item, and provide some basic details. And if you use the “Sell Later” feature, selling becomes even simpler. When you purchase an item, all the relevant information flows directly to Designer Wardrobe, including the description and purchase price, making it effortless to list the item for sale at a later date. Reselling is a great way to reduce waste and keep your wardrobe sustainable, while also earning some extra cash to treat yourself with something new and special from Max!

 

Can you explain a little more around what led DW to focus on circularity for fashion brands and how does that fit into Designer Wardrobe’s Marketplace?

Because we believe that circularity is the future of fashion, we have always been focused on making Designer Wardrobe a tool for brands to use to make more sustainable and environmentally conscious choices. Our Marketplace has been working alongside fashion designers for some time with rentals, so we know how important sustainability is for some designers. Being able to extend the life of customers who are buying one-off pieces is reducing the amount of waste generated by the fashion industry. The addition of Sell Later is just one more way we're making it easy for people to keep their wardrobes circular and sustainable, and it fits so nicely into DW as we are already a thriving Marketplace!