June 25, 2025 • 41 mins
In this vibrant episode of The Conscious Cut, host Hoiki Liu welcomes Louisa Dearlove, founder of Fenxiang, Hong Kong’s first peer-to-peer fashion rental and resale platform. With a dynamic background in fashion and tech, Louisa shares her journey from working with brands like Vivienne Tam to launching a solution for the city’s fast-fashion overload. Fenxiang empowers users to share wardrobes, renting high-quality pieces for events or everyday wear, all without the waste of buying new. From tackling consumer stigma around secondhand clothing to building a trusting community, Louisa reveals how her platform fosters circular fashion and mindful consumption. Tune in to discover practical ways to rethink your wardrobe and join Hong Kong’s sustainable fashion movement.
Louisa Dearlove is the founder of Fenxiang.
Thank you for listening!
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Episode Transcript
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Hoiki Liu (00:35):
Welcome back to the Conscious Cut.
Today, we have with us LouisaDearlove.
Louisa is the founder ofFenshao Fenxiang a peer-to-peer
fashion and resale platform.
She is an experienced founderwith a proven track record in
scaling business and deliveringhigh-impact projects.
She has worked with renownedfashion brands such as Vivienne
Tam, anya, hein-march and Joseph, and sporting brands such as
(00:56):
W-Series.
Louisa has served as chief ofstaff in Dun Bridge Street and
Rethink Hong Kong, as well asbeing on the founding team of
the leading market and growth atOpus.
So thank you for joining ustoday.
Our main focus today here, Ithink we're going to talk more
about Feng Fenxiang yes, butlet's begin with your background
.
Can you tell us a bit aboutyour professional journey and
(01:20):
what brought you to Hong Kong?
Louisa Dearlove (01:22):
Absolutely Well .
Thank you so much for having metoday.
It's so wonderful to be hereand, as you can probably tell in
my bio, I've had a little bitof a sort of zigzag journey, but
definitely it's kind of led meto now becoming a founder.
So I, when I was at school anduniversity, I always wanted to
work in fashion.
So I went to work for a numberof fashion houses working kind
(01:43):
of the the press side of things.
I worked in New York for asummer interning for Vivian Tam
and like working on her New Yorkfashion show, which was an
incredible experience.
And then when I left university,I was sort of not quite sure
what I wanted to do, so triedlike a number of different
things, but went into thestartup world and became the
first employee at a sportingbrand called W Series and that
(02:06):
was an incredible experience.
Being the first person in anorganization is just amazing.
You're helping build it fromthe ground up, you're taking all
these incredible meetingswhilst also plugging in
computers and doing all thestuff.
So it was amazing getting thatstartup experience.
And then I decided to move moreinto the tech side and tech
side more of a corporate roleand what I realized, what I was
(02:30):
doing at W Series was this kindof chief of staff role, which is
very much.
You are kind of working acrossall aspects of the business, all
parts of the team, which Iabsolutely love.
So I'd gone from doing that ata startup to then I went to work
at Dun Bradstreet chief ofstaff there for the chief
marketing officer, which was anincredible role.
Again, working at a largecorporate is so different to
(02:51):
working at a startup.
You're just there's so muchmore kind of you know all the
different levels of approval.
But I think it's so importantto have that corporate world
experience.
And for me, they offered me arole in Hong Kong after three
years and that's what brought meto Hong Kong, which I was
overjoyed about.
I've always wanted to work inAsia, so when I got the
opportunity I absolutely jumpedat it, so moved to Hong Kong
(03:15):
with Dun Bradstreet and thenreally found that I wanted to
move back into something with alittle bit more purpose and
mission driven, and that's whenI came across Rethink Hong Kong,
which is what which is uh,hosts a large event every year
focused on sustainability.
So I've been working there aschief of staff for the past
three years and then, yes, I'venow kind of got.
(03:38):
That journey has led me tostart my own business, working
um as the founder of Funchiangum.
So, yeah, that's what broughtme to Hong Kong and now running
my own business.
I thought Vivian Tam was whatbrought you to Hong Kong.
It's such a serendipitous momentbecause when I was in New York,
I was like, oh yeah, thisamazing Hong Kong designer.
And then I moved to Hong Kongand I was like this amazing Hong
(04:00):
Kong designer that I worked forwhen I was 19 years old, this
is incredible.
So, yeah, it feels quitespecial now and I've got some
Vivienne Tam dresses that shegifted me, which was so special.
Hoiki Liu (04:10):
Actually, one of my sample rooms in Hong Kong still
makes for her.
I love her.
Yes, her stuff is reallybeautiful and the cutting, the
patterns Stunning.
But let's go back to Fanxiang.
So I want to ask you a littlebit more.
I mean, now that we know yourjourney, but what was the
motivation really?
What was the problem that youwere trying to solve?
What did you see that made youclick and think, oh, I should
(04:32):
start this.
Louisa Dearlove (04:34):
So during my time in Hong Kong, I really
struggled with shopping.
I found that there was sort ofhigh end, designer or sort of
you know more kind of highstreet brands, fast fashion.
I felt like there wasn't reallymuch in between that you know
that contemporary fashion.
And I kind of was havingconversations with friends and
(04:54):
one of my friends invited me tocome and look into her wardrobe
because I wanted a dress for awedding.
And I went into her cupboardand she was like, yeah, you
honestly borrow anything Like.
I'm so bored of my clothes.
And I just looked to hercupboard and she was like, yeah,
do you honestly borrow anythingLike?
I'm so bored of my clothes.
And I just looked in hercupboard and was like, you have
so many amazing items.
I would love to borrow this andthis.
And I ended up borrowing adress from her.
And it just got me thinkingthere must be so many of us that
just have wardrobes full ofclothes which things that sort
(05:20):
of feel old to us but would benew to someone else.
And that's kind of what got methinking like why can't we all
do that?
Why can't we share some of thegood that we all have in our
wardrobes, and the rental markethas really started to take off
in Europe and the US, and when Iwas living in London, I'd
become quite an avid user ofrental platforms, and I'm now in
that time in my life where I'mattending a lot of weddings and
(05:41):
just having to, like, buy newoutfits all the time.
You know, buying something once, never wearing it again, it
just feels so wasteful.
I've always been a big believerin quality over quantity and I
just, you know, started to lookmuch more into that sustainable
fashion space and wanted tothink you know how?
These are sort of two problemsI want to solve.
I want to help that the issuethat we're having in fashion
(06:02):
with waste, but also I want tohave an amazing new item that I
can wear without that waste.
So that's sort of how Fenxiangbegan.
So, yes, my co-founder and Istarted to put a website
together and started to test themarket, and that's kind of
where we are today.
Hoiki Liu (06:16):
From my understanding .
I want to just jump right intothis and ask you guys don't have
a warehouse holding everybody'srental clothes, which is what
the rental market that I'veknown of in Hong Kong has been
Given that really you only inHong Kong, in my experience you
only go to the rental shop forif you want to rent a wedding
dress, if you want to wearevening gowns, you know, or
(06:39):
maybe it'll be a mix of match.
I remember myself I actuallyhad bought my wedding gown but I
rented my evening dresses.
But years later now, I stillbought my wedding gown but I
rented my evening dresses.
Amazing.
But years later now, I stillhave my wedding gown just
sitting there in my closet andnever going to wear it again,
like you know, which makes methink why did I think I needed
to have something new at thetime?
But I mean, we'll get back tothis.
(06:59):
This is part of the stigma, butlet me go back to what I was
saying is, most of these placesthey hold all the inventory and
hold everything that they'regoing to rent and the clothes
belong to the business.
So you come into my shopinstead of buying something,
you're looking around everythingand renting something.
But that's not what's happeningwith Fenxiang right.
Louisa Dearlove (07:16):
No, so we work a little differently.
So we are a peer-to-peer modeland at the moment, we're the
only peer-to-peer model in HongKong.
So, as you said, we don't holdany stock and it's very much
about this shared wardrobe withthe community.
So, yes, we are a peer-to-peermodel, so we don't hold any
stock.
So it is all about kind of asharing community, about having
(07:38):
that shared wardrobe.
So lenders will go on and theywill list their items on the
platform and then renters willcome and they will then read
those items directly from theperson.
So the whole process is yousign up for free and you can
list items.
So you take photos of youritems, you can upload them, you
select the brand, you price theitems as well we have a guide to
(08:01):
that, to the pricing as welland then you list them and they
list on the site as online, youknow, in a similar format to
online shopping.
And then you the renter whowants to rent something amazing
for a Friday night instead ofrushing down to a high street
store you go to Fenxiang, youbrowse the wardrobe, you select
the item that you want.
I think something key always tomention is that you can message
(08:23):
the lender and say you know, howdoes this fit Like?
What is the sizing?
Obviously there's so manydifferent brands with different
sizings.
We have so many brands acrossfrom US brands, australian
brands, uk brands so we want tomake sure we're always being
able to kind of have thatcommunication so you can message
the lender and say how doesthis fit?
And then you kind of check out,you select the dates, check out
(08:45):
and then you can either have itdelivered to you or you can go
to one of our pickup points aswell.
The good thing about the pickuppoints is that you can go to
pickup point and try it onimmediately.
If you love it, take it withyou.
If you don't, you can leave itat the pickup point and just let
us know, and then you'llreceive a full refund as well.
Because I would say that's likeone of the biggest pain points
we get is, of course, if youdon't have a showroom to go to.
(09:06):
It's like is this going to fitme?
We want to make sure thatyou're kind of having as much of
an open communication with thelender about it so we can make
sure that it is going to workout for you, but of course
things always don't fit or itdoesn't suit you, so we have an
option.
(09:29):
I mean we have an option.
I mean we have that even forwhen you go real, like real life
shopping all the time, ofcourse.
Yeah, exactly, and sometimes,yeah, you rent something, you
buy something and you're likethis isn't actually my style,
yeah.
Hoiki Liu (09:32):
So yeah, we want to make sure that you are having
that same user experience asonline shopping oh, that's
really, really great, because Iwould assume like a lot of
people might be traveling for awedding and you would want to
order everything online.
It's the same pain points aswhen you go shopping when things
come, if they don't look as itis and you're running out of
time what are you going to do?
Louisa Dearlove (09:50):
Exactly, exactly, so no, we really wanted
to make sure that that thatwhole user experience was the
same.
Hoiki Liu (09:55):
That is so great.
So now, how long exactly hasFenxiang been running in Hong
Kong?
Louisa Dearlove (10:01):
So we have been running for about a year and a
half now and we sort of we kindof like test.
We did sort of like build anMVP, so minimal, viable product,
and my I wanted to.
I straight away was like, let'sbuild an app, and my co-founder
was who was a software engineerwas like, okay, you're up here
and you need to be down here.
Let's test the market first andlike speak to customers, which
(10:22):
was absolutely the right thingto do, and I would advocate for
anyone starting a business startwith an MVP and then speak to
your customers and iterate andsee what people want to do.
Like, for example, I thoughteveryone would want to send
things via SF Express.
People and I think this is quiteunique to Hong Kong people are
happy to meet up and do the dropoff points.
People are happy to meet up anddo the drop off points, and
(10:43):
that was something that was veryinteresting, which, where I'm
originally from in the UK, thatwould not happen, right.
So I think that's a lot becauseof, like, the trusting
community side of Hong Kong.
So, yeah, we launched them,we've tested the market and I
guess over the past year we'vebeen working with different
partners.
We've done a number of brandcollaborations with Top Swap,
(11:05):
swap Society, women of Hong Kongto really kind of, you know,
get the concept out there, getpeople to really understand what
renting is and kind of alignwith brands, that sort of align
with kind of our ethos as well.
I quit my full-time job inMarch, oh wow.
Hoiki Liu (11:23):
So that's when I feel , even though we've been running
for a year and a half like thatfor me is now like okay, I'm
now doing this like full-time,congratulations, thank you and
you know you're working forgreat businesses, but at the
same time, it really means likethis venture and platform that
you're building is, you knowit's enough to take off.
Louisa Dearlove (11:41):
Absolutely.
And I think as well and I'msure that you found this as well
with running your own businesslike you have to, you have to
give it, give it your all, and Ithink for me to fully get F&C
to the next stage, I had toreally kind of go for it all
right now so it's been a yearand a half, approximately how
many members do you havecurrently.
(12:02):
So at the moment we have, Ithink, over 400 users on the
platform and we've actually justreached about 700 items on the
platform, and actually that's abig thing.
That I'm focusing on at themoment is increasing that supply
and just making sure there areenough different like styles and
sizes and brands that peoplereally want.
Hoiki Liu (12:21):
Yeah, I guess what would like for me as a consumer
from a consumer standpoint.
I guess what would like for meas a consumer from a consumer
standpoint.
I guess what I would be moreworried with if, let's say, if I
was the Okay.
So I think as someone who'sborrowing we've already
mentioned like, oh, you have aplace where I can trial and fit,
so that is already solved, kindof the issue.
But as a lender, now if I'm theone lending my flows, what
(12:45):
should I expect?
Louisa Dearlove (12:47):
um great question.
So I think it's very much likethe items that you want to lend
are those ones which you almostthose are really special dresses
or special items that are.
You know you don't want to sell.
Like at a moment you don't wantto sell but you really want to
make your wardrobe work harder.
It's like, why are these thingssitting in my wardrobe when
(13:08):
someone else could be enjoyingthem?
And I think, actually thinkingum someone I spoke to earlier
this week.
She has all these amazingoutfits from her wedding, her
hen party outfits, herengagement party outfits.
She's like I'm never gonna wearthese again, but they're so
special to me so we don't wantto, don't want to sell them, but
actually renting them out umwould be amazing and to see like
other women enjoying those.
(13:29):
So I think that's definitelykind of the point of view from
the lender, what you want tothink, and then, in terms of
kind of how it works, the lenderit's very much.
You know, being able to shootthose clothes and I say shoot,
that means like that soundssuper professional, just
honestly having like a whitewall with like a clear, bright
photo so that the person can seeat the end of the day, I would
assume we would want it to be asrealistic as possible, because
(13:51):
you don't?
it's just going to wasteeveryone's time if the borrower
is completely and writing in thedescription saying like this is
you know a UK 10, but it fitslike a UK 12 as well, like I
find it really, it works reallywell for this, or like there's
like a tiny little like, likesomething on the back, like just
being really honest about it.
(14:11):
Like you know, we're not tryingto hide these clothes have been
worn, they have been enjoyed,but it's about more people
enjoying them and it being newto people.
So I think, as the lender, it'sabout you know, being realistic
, as you said, really overcommunicating with the renter as
well, so that they're having asmuch of a fantastic experience
through this, having as much for, like, fantastic experience
(14:33):
through this, um, and yeah, justthe I would say that, yeah, the
communication of it as well um,and being able to create that
kind of trusting community um doyou do people usually rent for
a period of time, or is it likejust one event?
uh.
So it kind of depends and weand we kind of allow for both.
So we have a minimum, minimalrental period of two days, um,
but some people tend to rent forkind of up to five days.
So some people, for example, ifyou have an event on the
(14:55):
saturday night, people arerented from the thursday so they
can try it and then they'lldeliver it back on the monday,
okay, and then we also have thatsome people will take, like you
know, we know hong kongers loveto travel and so a lot and a
lot of people are travelingabroad for, like, different
events, especially weddings andthings.
So absolutely you can take itaway for a week, two weeks, and
we actually have a pricingstructure that after four days
(15:18):
the price starts to reduce, sothat actually you're right that
makes sense because you're on aholiday.
Hoiki Liu (15:23):
it doesn't mean you're actually gonna wear this
item for that number of timesthis year, exactly, okay, that's
really nice.
Now, when people return theirclothes, do they have to dry
clean it before returning?
How?
Louisa Dearlove (15:38):
does that work?
Great question.
So this is very much somethingwhich I'm the customer and we
have chosen to do it the waythat we have because of my
preference and my preference ismy dress I want to take to my
dry cleaner preference and mypreference is my dress I want to
take to my dry cleaner.
So if I have lent something outthat I, when I'm listing my
items, I write the dry cleaningcost and the dry cleaning cost
(15:59):
is built into the rental price.
So the renter pays for the drycleaning but the item is
returned to me.
You know, but you like worn,but then I will take it to my
dry cleaner and that again is isthe preference, because I want
to take it to my dry cleaner andyou know I want to.
You know I want to trusteveryone but I don't want
someone, you know, god forbidlike put it in the washing
(16:21):
machine or something like that.
Hoiki Liu (16:22):
I mean because, let's be very honest, not everybody
knows how to read care labelsabsolutely exactly so.
Louisa Dearlove (16:28):
I think it's.
You know it's your own item,you want that cared for in this
standard that you want, but alsothen for the renter it takes
out.
You know, one step for therenter.
They don't then have to worryabout the cleaning, they can
just rent it and then return itimmediately.
And if I decide to rent aproduct that can be machine
washed, then that cost would bemuch lower for Exactly.
(16:49):
Yeah, I have a few items listedon there which can just be put
in the wash.
Hoiki Liu (16:51):
So items listed on there which can just be put in
the wash.
So I just, yeah, don't, don'tlist it.
Oh, that is so great, um.
So I know earlier we weresaying how, um, the way that
people are putting things out orhow they feel, how should I say
this, I guess?
Okay, let's simplify myquestion.
Is there any stigma right nowfor, especially in Asia, let's
say, chinese people?
You know we also have ChineseNew Year.
You need to get something new,like I remember actually when I
(17:14):
had my brand out just for threemonths, as you know, kind of a
trial.
But, as I was saying, anthracollection is such a slow
collection that is not going tohave seasonal updates not always
and I was in a shop in Denmarkactually for three months, so it
did great for Christmas, likewhen I didn't really do any push
on marketing it because it'sjust a trial.
(17:35):
It took off on its own.
But came Chinese New Year, thesame customer went back to the
same shop asking if my brand hassomething new for them
Interesting, and I did it, yeah,yeah.
So I mean, I do realize how thedifficulty here occasionally is
people really want somethingnew, and it's not just a new
(17:56):
style, it's.
They literally want a new piece, for whatever reason it is.
Louisa Dearlove (18:01):
It's tough, it's really hard.
You know, for all of thosereasons that you just said, and
I definitely was naive coming inI thought, right, I'm going to
launch this like rental andresale site and it's been a
really successful business model, like elsewhere in the world,
and people did not really theydid not know what it was.
You know, I've definitely hadto focus a lot on the education
(18:21):
side of things and, you're right, there is a stigma and
especially in Asia, it's muchmore kind of like wanting you,
and so that has definitely beena challenge for sure.
I think, yeah, there's I mean,there's no good answer for it,
because it's definitely achallenge that I I'm like facing
day to day.
And I think what I want to kindof lean into, the messaging I
(18:41):
want to lean into, is that ideathat someone everyone does want
something new all the time.
Just because something isn'tlike fresh, new from the package
, it doesn't mean it can't benew to them.
And going into that idea oflike, actually, yes, I do want
to wear a different outfit everyweek.
Ok, that's great, you don'thave to buy a new outfit every
week, you can just rent a newoutfit every week and you can
rent, like these amazing brandsthat normally would cost you
(19:03):
know thousands of dollars for afraction of the price.
So leaning into that messagingand making, trying to get people
to understand like actually byrenting you can have such a
variety of choice on like brandsand styles and, um, yeah,
trying different trends as well.
But it's an issue and it's it'schanging consumer habits, which
is so difficult, and the waythat we all are, the world is
(19:26):
set up.
Fast fashion is easy.
Fast fashion is so easy and youknow everything.
You know all these like newpieces are available to us, like
people doing kind of all thedifferent seasonal trends and
things like that, and so it's areal education piece.
I'm trying to get people tounderstand and change those
consumer habits, which is sodifficult.
Hoiki Liu (19:44):
It is, I think, and I mean I understand we're both
going into schools to do thesetypes of education.
Now that we're both going intoschools to do these types of
education, now, I was just at aninternational school last week
where I was speaking to a groupof kids about sustainable
fashion and there was one of thestudents who was looking.
They were looking at my website.
(20:05):
They looked at my website atthe price of the pieces and she
said you know, it's not that Idon't like the things here, but
they seem kind of expensive,given these kids are, you know,
15 to 17, something like that.
And I understand that.
But I asked her just on herconsumer habits when's the last
time you went shopping?
(20:25):
How did you shop?
Where did you shop from?
How many things did you get?
You know things like that.
So she said the last time shebought something was online.
Something like a month ago shebought three items from shin.
Um, one of the items she hasnot worn.
She got it.
She said it's not really whatshe was expecting, what she
wanted, so she just left itaside.
Like you know, it's justsitting there somewhere in a
(20:48):
pile somewhere in her house.
Um, and then the two other items.
She says she's worn it aroundmaybe two to three times each,
but she doesn't want to wear itanymore now because it feels
like it's not trendy anymore.
And so what I explained to herat that moment is how much did
you play for those three itemsas shin, and if you actually
(21:09):
defied it out by not everwearing it or wearing it two to
three times?
It's, it's not that cheap.
Yeah, first is something thatyou can love for many years,
that you might wear.
Let me say, just say, if youwere something that you're
willing to wear once a week,maybe a pair of simple pants
that you can mix and match withdifferent things, in a year you
would have already wore it 52times exactly, exactly, and this
(21:30):
is this is you know why.
Louisa Dearlove (21:32):
Like this is both what we're, obviously, you
know, talking to people aboutwhat is so important, and it's
all about that quality overquantity, which is so difficult
when you've got that cheap pricetag in front of you and you're
like great, I just want to havethat now.
But I so, if I think of mywardrobe and what has been in it
for, let's say, say like fiveplus years, is when I've spent
(21:52):
on those high quality pieces andit's when I've invested in
those pieces.
So it's about kind of thateducation of like, actually you
need, you should invest in thoselike high quality everyday kind
of work pieces that are goingto last you and then rent for
like the fun, like those fun,like events and, like you know,
even just like going out on aFriday night and things like
(22:13):
that.
Like I think that's the biggestconsumer habit I'm trying to
change.
It's that weekly okay, I'mgoing out with some friends
tonight, I'm going for dinner orthis, like I want to wear
something nice and running downto Zara and just buying
something immediately which I'mnever going to wear again, okay,
it's fine.
Just like, hop onto fun chiangand just select something and
it's.
You know it's a community, soeveryone is in hong kong,
(22:35):
everyone is based like prettyclose by like just rent
something instead which is likeout there and fun and a new
brand.
But it's so tricky to you know,do that education piece around,
getting people to understandthat she, like spending more is,
is actually you long-termspending less?
Um, but it's, I know it'sfantastic and that's why I love
speaking to you and like theanthro collection is such an
(22:56):
amazing it's like amazing brandof what you guys are doing,
messaging one of the things Iwas telling the kids besides
like paying less now, it's justyou're just not paying for the
consequence later on.
Hoiki Liu (23:07):
And it's not just you are not paying for the
consequence later on is we'reall paying for that consequence
later on.
And I had to explain to them.
Actually, the day that I hadthe talk with them was the
hottest day in record of in junefor hong kong ever.
It got up to 38 degrees, oh mygosh.
So I was explaining to them onthat day like you guys probably
(23:28):
won't realize this becauseyou're still, you know, in your
first 20 years of life there'sstill a lot of things to
experience and just to absorb.
But you wouldn't know what waswhat it was before that and when
I was young like june was notin the 30s, you know june was
like maybe 28 degrees.
(23:48):
Now we're talking about thehottest day.
I mean it was like the top ofthe mountain, on the peak.
It was 38 degrees, but it'sstill crazy.
Like global warming, there aredays where it's not just 1.5
degrees higher, it's muchcrazier than that.
So I was explaining to them.
You know we are already livingin consequences of what the past
(24:09):
generations have done.
They may not realize this isthe consequence, but on a day
like june they shouldn't have tobe in an air-conditioned room?
Louisa Dearlove (24:16):
no, absolutely, and it's just, it's the waste
as well, like I think you know,as you know, like the fashion
industry is the third largestpolluter, like in this, is it
second now?
Yeah, I mean the second now,and it's just crazy and it's
it's from yeah you know thewater usage to the waste.
And I see, and it's those, um,I mean those sheen like tiktok
(24:38):
hauls and like things like that,and I see and I'm like, oh,
that is just so many clothes andlike, honestly, the thing is,
it's tricky because I remember,if I'm being really honest, when
I was 16, I was addicted tozara.
Yeah, I was so addicted to zaraand I was so into this desire
and I remember it was almostlike a thing of pride, like
going in and like buying as manythings as possible.
Hoiki Liu (24:55):
I don't have any of those items anymore and those
are all just somewhere in like ahuge kind of like waste
facility and that's what's wildand it's trying to, yeah, change
that, that conversation, andbecause, at the end of the day,
if you just want to look fresh,really renting something I'm
sure most people who's puttingtheir things out for rent is
going to be a higher qualitypiece, because no one's going to
(25:18):
rent your garments from Shin orH&M.
Louisa Dearlove (25:21):
Like no one needs that.
No, and we don't accept kind offast fashion brands.
We maintain that we have, like,high quality items.
Hoiki Liu (25:29):
There's always a value in it if it's high quality
items.
Louisa Dearlove (25:33):
So if you really do want something new for
that, you know that night outrenting something that would
elevate you instead of buyingsomething that is just no, you
know exactly, and actually oneof my kind of like top tips of
friendship now is there's two orthree women on the platform
that I know are the same size asme and I really like their
style, so I just keep going backto their things and I'm renting
(25:56):
those.
Something that I should mentionas well that we've just
recently launched is we'velaunched a resale tab on there
as well, because we found that alot of people were saying we've
got lots of items we want torent, but actually we've got a
lot of like high quality pieces,like contemporary fashion
pieces that we would love aswell to sell.
Hoiki Liu (26:12):
So we've started selling some items as well, and
I'm sure there might be thatperson who wore this dress one
night and they loved it so muchthey kind of want to keep it
from themselves exactly.
Louisa Dearlove (26:21):
Yeah, we've had a few people that they rented
and said like oh, I actuallylove it, can I buy it?
And.
And the lender's like fantastic, yes, please.
Hoiki Liu (26:28):
And I love how you said um, there's a few women
that you know is now your size.
It's almost like I don't know,without having this being part
of the, the reason for why thisplatform was built.
Louisa Dearlove (26:39):
But you're kind of building a community,
absolutely, and I think that isso much like what it is about.
It's building this community.
The idea came from like sharingfrom your friend's wardrobe.
It's like the idea that you seesomething your friend's wearing
like I love that so much.
I want that and that's what Ireally want the kind of the
ethos to be is sharing like fromyour friend's wardrobe and
building that community.
(26:59):
And building that community of,uh, you know that circular
fashion economy, but also thatwe don't need to compromise,
like we can still wearincredible clothes and we can
still have amazing style, butjust change it and old-fashioned
habits because, if you know,you start to get to know the
(27:20):
lender or the renter um you alsowill have that much more faith
in what you're getting.
Absolutely, it's building.
It's building that trust andbuilding that trust in community
.
Hoiki Liu (27:25):
Yeah, that's beautiful um, I actually want to
ask first, is there any successstories or something that's
really you know that you thought, oh, this happened between our
members, or once we got thisdress and whatever happened to
it?
Is there something that'sreally like I?
Louisa Dearlove (27:42):
need to tell you to start.
Um, a friend of mine had a babyat the end of last year and she
, you know, was going through astage where she's like nothing
fits me.
I hate kind of all the clothes,and she and we had a lot of
friends who have like bigparties coming up and stuff,
just really want to come to thembut I'm just not feeling myself
(28:03):
.
And she rented like all hereverything that she wore to
those events over the six monthsfrom fushiyang and she was like
this is great, because it'sitems that are making me feel
good.
They're not in my usual size,they're not something that I
would normally kind of buy, andit was just so wonderful because
she was coming to these events,just like feeling like herself,
like being able to, being ableto try like different items that
(28:26):
she could just rent now andthen, yeah, later on she doesn't
.
She like now then they're'renot her size anymore, so she's
going to lose and that's allshe's done.
Hoiki Liu (28:34):
I'm sure she will feel like I.
I actually I had the samefeeling after giving birth.
I feel I feel guilty for buyingnew things because I know my
body shape is going to changeagain, but at the same time I
can't keep worrying what I waswearing and while I was pregnant
.
Yeah, so I literally left outof leggings and just sports for,
(28:56):
I think, a year until I gotback to my shape.
But I was quite unhappy for thewhole year.
I mean, I was happy with mylife, my family, but I was quite
unhappy with how I actuallylooked.
So I remember I didn't want totake pictures.
I didn't really want to takepictures.
I would take pictures of mykids, my husband and my kids,
but I'd be like I don't reallywant to be in the picture for
that exact reason.
I don't feel myself yet andnone of my clothes fit me.
Louisa Dearlove (29:20):
Exactly so.
It was like an opportunity forher to try different styles.
I wish I was Fenxiang when Iwas going through that time.
Yeah, that was good, good, andactually someone the other day
they rented, so we've got acouple of amazing suits on there
.
So I would say the majority ofthe items we have are very much
like for event dressing, likeweddings, big parties and things
(29:41):
like that.
But we've got a couple of likeamazing kind of like power suits
on there which a few peoplehave rented, and someone rented
one last week because she wasinterviewing at a fashion house
and it was amazing.
She ended up getting gettingthe job.
She was interviewing at afashion house and it was amazing
.
She ended up getting the job.
She was like I felt just sopowerful going in in this great
suit and yeah, it really workedfor me and she was like but I
didn't need that suit Like overand over again, I just needed it
(30:03):
for that moment.
So that was really cool.
Hoiki Liu (30:06):
I think it would be especially great for A few items
.
Obviously, offense andoccasional wear that is not
something that you'll want towear repeatedly, and even
sometimes very brightly coloredor fashion and trendy things.
I mean, it might be you forthis moment, but maybe not all
the time.
I also think we do need tospeak to more kids who are
(30:31):
searching for themselves thestyle, like you know, to see
what looks good on them, forthem to explore fashion in a way
where there is it's lessweightful.
Louisa Dearlove (30:42):
Absolutely, yeah, definitely.
And it's that.
And that's one of obviously thebiggest problems of fast
fashion is those trends and likepeople wanting to try all those
trends, and so they do, theylike go to sheen and they like
buy all of those, but actuallyrenting gives you that option of
like actually I can try allthese trends, I can see kind of
what works and what doesn't work, right, and without having this
of the wasteful wastefulness ofbuying it and I was explaining
(31:03):
to the students.
Hoiki Liu (31:04):
it's bringing us back to the girl who said she rather
buys me from shin just becauseshe can try, but then after
either not wearing it or two,three, she realized it's not
really for her kind of thing.
I mean, in that same breath ofhearing all of those stories, I
also told them, you know.
Oh, actually, because when Iwas in there that day, I think
Chanel just either came out withthe news that morning or the
(31:25):
night before about Neve Old, howthey were starting a second,
not a second.
Their second starting Neve Oldis basically they're using the
old inventory to recreate andredesign new things.
One of the reasons stating thatis because all these luxurious
materials that we know ofnowadays your wools, your silks,
your leathers the supply isdepreciating and so it's getting
(31:49):
more and more expensive to buythese luxe items because the raw
materials cost so much more.
And I was explaining tostudents.
You know Chanel's alreadymaking this move.
It tells you a few things.
The first thing I will say iswe all actually need to take
care of our planet right now,and it's already a little bit
too late, but we cannot delayany longer, mainly because you
(32:13):
know we're talking about how thenatural resources are
depreciating.
This is because of globalwarming, this is because of all
the weights we've created.
That's drowning.
You know our earth, it's inpollution.
So you know, at their tender ageof 15, right now, this is a
luxury, I said, possibly by thetime you're 30, this will be
(32:35):
priceless.
Like you won't even be able toget it.
There might be no more fieldsfor sheep to graze on.
Cotton's not growing properlybecause of global warming.
You know.
You were talking about organiccotton now, but maybe cotton
just.
Even if you're adding all thechemicals, it won't even grow
properly anymore.
Silkworms no more silk, becausesilkworms can't live in this
(32:56):
extreme heat, you know.
So all of it is going to add upand then, by the time when you
have no more choice butpolyester, it's really going to
be way too late.
Louisa Dearlove (33:07):
Yeah, exactly, it's so interesting.
I saw that, yeah, that movethat Chanel are doing and it's
fantastic, and I think that'swhat is going to really make a
difference is those kind ofthose high fashion houses.
It's really starting to makethose changes, because there's
already behind the scenes likelots of changes being made, like
in the design process and themanufacturing, as you know.
But I think definitely, yeah,it's some big moves from Chanel
(33:29):
and I think we're hopefullygoing to see that that's going
to turn into much more of atrend.
And I've seen other kind ofsmaller brands.
There's, um, there's an amazingbrand in the UK called Rixo and
they, uh, they noticed that somany of their items were being
rented on various rental sites,so they just launched their own,
their own rental side of thebusiness.
I think they've actuallyrecently partnered with one of
those rental sites because theyidentified that so many, uh
(33:53):
people were like wearing theirdresses for weddings, so they
just leaned into like okay,actually we're gonna be part of
this as well and like be part ofthat rental journey.
So, yeah, it's great to seekind of brands also kind of
taking.
Hoiki Liu (34:05):
yeah and I think they all, we all kind of need to,
because you know kids wereasking me about like outlets
even and I think a lot of peopledon't realize this actually and
most of your outlets they sellmade to go Like.
They sell outlet lines thatthey order from the factory.
This is not stuff that's frompast and very left out Most of
the time, past inventory.
This is I was telling that asjust imagine or like.
(34:28):
We've all seen this becausethere's so many malls and
shopping centers and shops ingeneral in Hong Kong.
We've all seen.
You know your H&M or your Uniqlogo on sale.
You know full shop of things onsale and then they go on
further discount and then theygo to final sale.
By the time it's final salethree weeks later it's still a
shop full of inventory and youknow there is more in the
(34:51):
warehouse.
Still it's crazy inventory andyou know there is more in the
warehouse still crazy.
So the day where it's finalinventory and the next day they
flip over and sell a brand newseason, what do you think
happened to everything that wasstill in the shop when they
closed that night?
Yeah, you know it's so scary.
It's so crazy because we allknow everyone is over producing
right um and going back to thechanel thing, and now we know
(35:15):
they're starting this newventure, but at the same time,
what does that tell us aboutwhat they were previously doing?
Yes, yeah, absolutely, and Ithink that is for every brand
and everybody, from fast fashionto your high luxury, because
protecting your brand name andIP has always been something
that was so important.
But I think it's time to lookat the importance of that and
(35:36):
the importance of where ourworld is going right.
Absolutely.
So we need there's so manyproblems and we definitely need
more solutions like Fenxiang.
Louisa Dearlove (35:45):
Absolutely, and I think that's just that's.
What's so important is, youknow, we can't just say like
stop buying or like stop having,you know, stop having access to
amazing fashion.
Like that's that's our biggestthing is like we are not saying
that we need to compromise onthat.
It's just we have to change thehabits, we have to shift those
habits to become moresustainable, and there are so
(36:06):
many amazing solutions anddifferent options.
It's just changing that mindsetand that's that's what the
biggest challenge is, but alsoit's it's what's got to happen,
definitely.
So it's great to see like bigbusinesses kind of doing that,
because I think they can reallylead the way on it.
Yes, but definitely you know aslike the everyday person, that
they can.
Hoiki Liu (36:25):
They can make those more sustainable choices as well
one more thing I like to add isa lot of people buying new it's
because they think it's it's ahygiene issue.
Half of it, yes, yes, and thatis the biggest like lie.
Yeah, that is not true.
Like buying new clothes is it'snot clean.
New things usually aren't clean.
They've gone through millionsof people's of hands.
(36:47):
So when I explain the supplychain from the raw materials to
you know we making yarns, fromthe yarns, weaving or knitting
the fabrics, and then to thecutting um sewing things
together, ironing things likefusing on all of these parts,
people adding on buttons, pack,inspecting your, your clothes,
(37:10):
packing in a bag everything Ijust said is done by a different
person.
Louisa Dearlove (37:14):
This is so great to hear from your point of
view, the manufacturing sidebecause obviously which isn't a
surprise and which is acompletely fair question we get
a lot of questions about hygieneand items appearing new.
But that is so true it'sdisgusting.
That's what it is.
Yeah, exactly, even on a shopfloor, people are going through
(37:36):
items all the time and stufflike that.
Hoiki Liu (37:38):
And I think, because they took it from the stock room
, it's still in a polyester bag,but you need to think about
what happened before.
It was packaged in a polyesterbag Exactly.
Even if it's something that'sbeen laundered at one point
After the laundering point,there's still many, many steps
it goes through before it getsinto a package Exactly exactly
Most of the time, our items.
Louisa Dearlove (37:59):
they're dry, cleaned and then just put back
in someone's cupboard and thenthey're picked up again to
deliver to the renters.
That is actually much cleaner.
That's probably much cleanerand way less steps.
So actually, yeah, that'ssomething I need to talk about a
lot more.
As you can imagine, it's a bigquestion.
We get, which is so fair enough.
Hoiki Liu (38:24):
We have T's and C's in place, that making sure that
all of our items are up to thehigh standard that we expect
that we would want all of ouritems to be delivered.
As a garment manufacturer, Ialways tell my friends, whenever
I buy something new, I alwayswash it first.
Louisa Dearlove (38:32):
Yes, it's so interesting.
Everyone I meet who's like infashion in the real, like kind
of garment, like manufacturingside, always say that, yeah.
Hoiki Liu (38:42):
So I love to.
I love to share that with youso you can, hopefully.
You know, I feel like a bigsegment.
It's used, it's old, it's clean.
It's one of the main things.
But with everything that wetalked about today, I'm super
excited about the partnershipwe're going to be building,
going forward.
So excited, yeah, so I'm goingto be putting the entire Anthra
(39:02):
collection onto Fenxiang.
As you know, anthra collectionbeing such a slow collection,
extremely slow fashion, doesn'talways have something new every
season.
We don't have a retail spacethat we can constantly be in,
because you know, when you gointo a shop, people are looking
for something new.
So I'm super happy to have aplatform like yours where I can
(39:23):
actually share my garments withthe potential customer who's
unsure of the quality, maybe, orunsure of the sizing and fit.
Now they can actually get itsomewhere for um, for rental,
and see if they like it firstbefore they decide if they want
to purchase and if they do not,or if they only want to wear it
for their occasion.
Louisa Dearlove (39:40):
That's fine too .
Absolutely, we are so excitedto be partnering with you and,
honestly, just so honored,because everything that your
brand is about is, like, so trueto Fenxiang and the whole kind
of like slow fashion side, as,as well as, honestly, anthro
Collection have so manyfantastic items, so all of our
users are in for a treat, sothey're going to have so many
incredible options.
So really excited for it.
(40:01):
Thank you so much.
Yes, thank you.
Hoiki Liu (40:03):
So I think we might have covered everything we
needed to today.
Great, yes, and I'm sure I'mgoing to have you back again,
because, as the platform evolves, we're gonna talk about how
it's changed absolutely and it'sjust been.
Louisa Dearlove (40:20):
yeah, it's been such a joy to chat to you and,
like speak with someone who's sopassionate on this, on this
subject as well, and I justthink that you know we we share
that same mission of we reallywant to see those, um, those
fashion habits like thosebecoming more, but we don't need
to compromise on havingincredible clothes and
incredible style as well.
We can still have that.
So it's just been wonderful tochat to you and learn more about
(40:42):
your business as well.
Hoiki Liu (40:43):
Thank you so much for your time today.
Thank you you.
Welcome back to the Conscious Cut.
Today, we have with us LouisaDearlove.
Louisa is the founder ofFenshao Fenxiang a peer-to-peer
fashion and resale platform.
She is an experienced founderwith a proven track record in
scaling business and deliveringhigh-impact projects.
She has worked with renownedfashion brands such as Vivienne
Tam, anya, hein-march and Joseph, and sporting brands such as
(00:56):
W-Series.
Louisa has served as chief ofstaff in Dun Bridge Street and
Rethink Hong Kong, as well asbeing on the founding team of
the leading market and growth atOpus.
So thank you for joining ustoday.
Our main focus today here, Ithink we're going to talk more
about Feng Fenxiang yes, butlet's begin with your background
.
Can you tell us a bit aboutyour professional journey and
(01:20):
what brought you to Hong Kong?
Louisa Dearlove (01:22):
Absolutely Well .
Thank you so much for having metoday.
It's so wonderful to be hereand, as you can probably tell in
my bio, I've had a little bitof a sort of zigzag journey, but
definitely it's kind of led meto now becoming a founder.
So I, when I was at school anduniversity, I always wanted to
work in fashion.
So I went to work for a numberof fashion houses working kind
(01:43):
of the the press side of things.
I worked in New York for asummer interning for Vivian Tam
and like working on her New Yorkfashion show, which was an
incredible experience.
And then when I left university,I was sort of not quite sure
what I wanted to do, so triedlike a number of different
things, but went into thestartup world and became the
first employee at a sportingbrand called W Series and that
(02:06):
was an incredible experience.
Being the first person in anorganization is just amazing.
You're helping build it fromthe ground up, you're taking all
these incredible meetingswhilst also plugging in
computers and doing all thestuff.
So it was amazing getting thatstartup experience.
And then I decided to move moreinto the tech side and tech
side more of a corporate roleand what I realized, what I was
(02:30):
doing at W Series was this kindof chief of staff role, which is
very much.
You are kind of working acrossall aspects of the business, all
parts of the team, which Iabsolutely love.
So I'd gone from doing that ata startup to then I went to work
at Dun Bradstreet chief ofstaff there for the chief
marketing officer, which was anincredible role.
Again, working at a largecorporate is so different to
(02:51):
working at a startup.
You're just there's so muchmore kind of you know all the
different levels of approval.
But I think it's so importantto have that corporate world
experience.
And for me, they offered me arole in Hong Kong after three
years and that's what brought meto Hong Kong, which I was
overjoyed about.
I've always wanted to work inAsia, so when I got the
opportunity I absolutely jumpedat it, so moved to Hong Kong
(03:15):
with Dun Bradstreet and thenreally found that I wanted to
move back into something with alittle bit more purpose and
mission driven, and that's whenI came across Rethink Hong Kong,
which is what which is uh,hosts a large event every year
focused on sustainability.
So I've been working there aschief of staff for the past
three years and then, yes, I'venow kind of got.
(03:38):
That journey has led me tostart my own business, working
um as the founder of Funchiangum.
So, yeah, that's what broughtme to Hong Kong and now running
my own business.
I thought Vivian Tam was whatbrought you to Hong Kong.
It's such a serendipitous momentbecause when I was in New York,
I was like, oh yeah, thisamazing Hong Kong designer.
And then I moved to Hong Kongand I was like this amazing Hong
(04:00):
Kong designer that I worked forwhen I was 19 years old, this
is incredible.
So, yeah, it feels quitespecial now and I've got some
Vivienne Tam dresses that shegifted me, which was so special.
Hoiki Liu (04:10):
Actually, one of my sample rooms in Hong Kong still
makes for her.
I love her.
Yes, her stuff is reallybeautiful and the cutting, the
patterns Stunning.
But let's go back to Fanxiang.
So I want to ask you a littlebit more.
I mean, now that we know yourjourney, but what was the
motivation really?
What was the problem that youwere trying to solve?
What did you see that made youclick and think, oh, I should
(04:32):
start this.
Louisa Dearlove (04:34):
So during my time in Hong Kong, I really
struggled with shopping.
I found that there was sort ofhigh end, designer or sort of
you know more kind of highstreet brands, fast fashion.
I felt like there wasn't reallymuch in between that you know
that contemporary fashion.
And I kind of was havingconversations with friends and
(04:54):
one of my friends invited me tocome and look into her wardrobe
because I wanted a dress for awedding.
And I went into her cupboardand she was like, yeah, you
honestly borrow anything Like.
I'm so bored of my clothes.
And I just looked to hercupboard and she was like, yeah,
do you honestly borrow anythingLike?
I'm so bored of my clothes.
And I just looked in hercupboard and was like, you have
so many amazing items.
I would love to borrow this andthis.
And I ended up borrowing adress from her.
And it just got me thinkingthere must be so many of us that
just have wardrobes full ofclothes which things that sort
(05:20):
of feel old to us but would benew to someone else.
And that's kind of what got methinking like why can't we all
do that?
Why can't we share some of thegood that we all have in our
wardrobes, and the rental markethas really started to take off
in Europe and the US, and when Iwas living in London, I'd
become quite an avid user ofrental platforms, and I'm now in
that time in my life where I'mattending a lot of weddings and
(05:41):
just having to, like, buy newoutfits all the time.
You know, buying something once, never wearing it again, it
just feels so wasteful.
I've always been a big believerin quality over quantity and I
just, you know, started to lookmuch more into that sustainable
fashion space and wanted tothink you know how?
These are sort of two problemsI want to solve.
I want to help that the issuethat we're having in fashion
(06:02):
with waste, but also I want tohave an amazing new item that I
can wear without that waste.
So that's sort of how Fenxiangbegan.
So, yes, my co-founder and Istarted to put a website
together and started to test themarket, and that's kind of
where we are today.
Hoiki Liu (06:16):
From my understanding .
I want to just jump right intothis and ask you guys don't have
a warehouse holding everybody'srental clothes, which is what
the rental market that I'veknown of in Hong Kong has been
Given that really you only inHong Kong, in my experience you
only go to the rental shop forif you want to rent a wedding
dress, if you want to wearevening gowns, you know, or
(06:39):
maybe it'll be a mix of match.
I remember myself I actuallyhad bought my wedding gown but I
rented my evening dresses.
But years later now, I stillbought my wedding gown but I
rented my evening dresses.
Amazing.
But years later now, I stillhave my wedding gown just
sitting there in my closet andnever going to wear it again,
like you know, which makes methink why did I think I needed
to have something new at thetime?
But I mean, we'll get back tothis.
(06:59):
This is part of the stigma, butlet me go back to what I was
saying is, most of these placesthey hold all the inventory and
hold everything that they'regoing to rent and the clothes
belong to the business.
So you come into my shopinstead of buying something,
you're looking around everythingand renting something.
But that's not what's happeningwith Fenxiang right.
Louisa Dearlove (07:16):
No, so we work a little differently.
So we are a peer-to-peer modeland at the moment, we're the
only peer-to-peer model in HongKong.
So, as you said, we don't holdany stock and it's very much
about this shared wardrobe withthe community.
So, yes, we are a peer-to-peermodel, so we don't hold any
stock.
So it is all about kind of asharing community, about having
(07:38):
that shared wardrobe.
So lenders will go on and theywill list their items on the
platform and then renters willcome and they will then read
those items directly from theperson.
So the whole process is yousign up for free and you can
list items.
So you take photos of youritems, you can upload them, you
select the brand, you price theitems as well we have a guide to
(08:01):
that, to the pricing as welland then you list them and they
list on the site as online, youknow, in a similar format to
online shopping.
And then you the renter whowants to rent something amazing
for a Friday night instead ofrushing down to a high street
store you go to Fenxiang, youbrowse the wardrobe, you select
the item that you want.
I think something key always tomention is that you can message
(08:23):
the lender and say you know, howdoes this fit Like?
What is the sizing?
Obviously there's so manydifferent brands with different
sizings.
We have so many brands acrossfrom US brands, australian
brands, uk brands so we want tomake sure we're always being
able to kind of have thatcommunication so you can message
the lender and say how doesthis fit?
And then you kind of check out,you select the dates, check out
(08:45):
and then you can either have itdelivered to you or you can go
to one of our pickup points aswell.
The good thing about the pickuppoints is that you can go to
pickup point and try it onimmediately.
If you love it, take it withyou.
If you don't, you can leave itat the pickup point and just let
us know, and then you'llreceive a full refund as well.
Because I would say that's likeone of the biggest pain points
we get is, of course, if youdon't have a showroom to go to.
(09:06):
It's like is this going to fitme?
We want to make sure thatyou're kind of having as much of
an open communication with thelender about it so we can make
sure that it is going to workout for you, but of course
things always don't fit or itdoesn't suit you, so we have an
option.
(09:29):
I mean we have an option.
I mean we have that even forwhen you go real, like real life
shopping all the time, ofcourse.
Yeah, exactly, and sometimes,yeah, you rent something, you
buy something and you're likethis isn't actually my style,
yeah.
Hoiki Liu (09:32):
So yeah, we want to make sure that you are having
that same user experience asonline shopping oh, that's
really, really great, because Iwould assume like a lot of
people might be traveling for awedding and you would want to
order everything online.
It's the same pain points aswhen you go shopping when things
come, if they don't look as itis and you're running out of
time what are you going to do?
Louisa Dearlove (09:50):
Exactly, exactly, so no, we really wanted
to make sure that that thatwhole user experience was the
same.
Hoiki Liu (09:55):
That is so great.
So now, how long exactly hasFenxiang been running in Hong
Kong?
Louisa Dearlove (10:01):
So we have been running for about a year and a
half now and we sort of we kindof like test.
We did sort of like build anMVP, so minimal, viable product,
and my I wanted to.
I straight away was like, let'sbuild an app, and my co-founder
was who was a software engineerwas like, okay, you're up here
and you need to be down here.
Let's test the market first andlike speak to customers, which
(10:22):
was absolutely the right thingto do, and I would advocate for
anyone starting a business startwith an MVP and then speak to
your customers and iterate andsee what people want to do.
Like, for example, I thoughteveryone would want to send
things via SF Express.
People and I think this is quiteunique to Hong Kong people are
happy to meet up and do the dropoff points.
People are happy to meet up anddo the drop off points, and
(10:43):
that was something that was veryinteresting, which, where I'm
originally from in the UK, thatwould not happen, right.
So I think that's a lot becauseof, like, the trusting
community side of Hong Kong.
So, yeah, we launched them,we've tested the market and I
guess over the past year we'vebeen working with different
partners.
We've done a number of brandcollaborations with Top Swap,
(11:05):
swap Society, women of Hong Kongto really kind of, you know,
get the concept out there, getpeople to really understand what
renting is and kind of alignwith brands, that sort of align
with kind of our ethos as well.
I quit my full-time job inMarch, oh wow.
Hoiki Liu (11:23):
So that's when I feel , even though we've been running
for a year and a half like thatfor me is now like okay, I'm
now doing this like full-time,congratulations, thank you and
you know you're working forgreat businesses, but at the
same time, it really means likethis venture and platform that
you're building is, you knowit's enough to take off.
Louisa Dearlove (11:41):
Absolutely.
And I think as well and I'msure that you found this as well
with running your own businesslike you have to, you have to
give it, give it your all, and Ithink for me to fully get F&C
to the next stage, I had toreally kind of go for it all
right now so it's been a yearand a half, approximately how
many members do you havecurrently.
(12:02):
So at the moment we have, Ithink, over 400 users on the
platform and we've actually justreached about 700 items on the
platform, and actually that's abig thing.
That I'm focusing on at themoment is increasing that supply
and just making sure there areenough different like styles and
sizes and brands that peoplereally want.
Hoiki Liu (12:21):
Yeah, I guess what would like for me as a consumer
from a consumer standpoint.
I guess what would like for meas a consumer from a consumer
standpoint.
I guess what I would be moreworried with if, let's say, if I
was the Okay.
So I think as someone who'sborrowing we've already
mentioned like, oh, you have aplace where I can trial and fit,
so that is already solved, kindof the issue.
But as a lender, now if I'm theone lending my flows, what
(12:45):
should I expect?
Louisa Dearlove (12:47):
um great question.
So I think it's very much likethe items that you want to lend
are those ones which you almostthose are really special dresses
or special items that are.
You know you don't want to sell.
Like at a moment you don't wantto sell but you really want to
make your wardrobe work harder.
It's like, why are these thingssitting in my wardrobe when
(13:08):
someone else could be enjoyingthem?
And I think, actually thinkingum someone I spoke to earlier
this week.
She has all these amazingoutfits from her wedding, her
hen party outfits, herengagement party outfits.
She's like I'm never gonna wearthese again, but they're so
special to me so we don't wantto, don't want to sell them, but
actually renting them out umwould be amazing and to see like
other women enjoying those.
(13:29):
So I think that's definitelykind of the point of view from
the lender, what you want tothink, and then, in terms of
kind of how it works, the lenderit's very much.
You know, being able to shootthose clothes and I say shoot,
that means like that soundssuper professional, just
honestly having like a whitewall with like a clear, bright
photo so that the person can seeat the end of the day, I would
assume we would want it to be asrealistic as possible, because
(13:51):
you don't?
it's just going to wasteeveryone's time if the borrower
is completely and writing in thedescription saying like this is
you know a UK 10, but it fitslike a UK 12 as well, like I
find it really, it works reallywell for this, or like there's
like a tiny little like, likesomething on the back, like just
being really honest about it.
(14:11):
Like you know, we're not tryingto hide these clothes have been
worn, they have been enjoyed,but it's about more people
enjoying them and it being newto people.
So I think, as the lender, it'sabout you know, being realistic
, as you said, really overcommunicating with the renter as
well, so that they're having asmuch of a fantastic experience
through this, having as much for, like, fantastic experience
(14:33):
through this, um, and yeah, justthe I would say that, yeah, the
communication of it as well um,and being able to create that
kind of trusting community um doyou do people usually rent for
a period of time, or is it likejust one event?
uh.
So it kind of depends and weand we kind of allow for both.
So we have a minimum, minimalrental period of two days, um,
but some people tend to rent forkind of up to five days.
So some people, for example, ifyou have an event on the
(14:55):
saturday night, people arerented from the thursday so they
can try it and then they'lldeliver it back on the monday,
okay, and then we also have thatsome people will take, like you
know, we know hong kongers loveto travel and so a lot and a
lot of people are travelingabroad for, like, different
events, especially weddings andthings.
So absolutely you can take itaway for a week, two weeks, and
we actually have a pricingstructure that after four days
(15:18):
the price starts to reduce, sothat actually you're right that
makes sense because you're on aholiday.
Hoiki Liu (15:23):
it doesn't mean you're actually gonna wear this
item for that number of timesthis year, exactly, okay, that's
really nice.
Now, when people return theirclothes, do they have to dry
clean it before returning?
How?
Louisa Dearlove (15:38):
does that work?
Great question.
So this is very much somethingwhich I'm the customer and we
have chosen to do it the waythat we have because of my
preference and my preference ismy dress I want to take to my
dry cleaner preference and mypreference is my dress I want to
take to my dry cleaner.
So if I have lent something outthat I, when I'm listing my
items, I write the dry cleaningcost and the dry cleaning cost
(15:59):
is built into the rental price.
So the renter pays for the drycleaning but the item is
returned to me.
You know, but you like worn,but then I will take it to my
dry cleaner and that again is isthe preference, because I want
to take it to my dry cleaner andyou know I want to.
You know I want to trusteveryone but I don't want
someone, you know, god forbidlike put it in the washing
(16:21):
machine or something like that.
Hoiki Liu (16:22):
I mean because, let's be very honest, not everybody
knows how to read care labelsabsolutely exactly so.
Louisa Dearlove (16:28):
I think it's.
You know it's your own item,you want that cared for in this
standard that you want, but alsothen for the renter it takes
out.
You know, one step for therenter.
They don't then have to worryabout the cleaning, they can
just rent it and then return itimmediately.
And if I decide to rent aproduct that can be machine
washed, then that cost would bemuch lower for Exactly.
(16:49):
Yeah, I have a few items listedon there which can just be put
in the wash.
Hoiki Liu (16:51):
So items listed on there which can just be put in
the wash.
So I just, yeah, don't, don'tlist it.
Oh, that is so great, um.
So I know earlier we weresaying how, um, the way that
people are putting things out orhow they feel, how should I say
this, I guess?
Okay, let's simplify myquestion.
Is there any stigma right nowfor, especially in Asia, let's
say, chinese people?
You know we also have ChineseNew Year.
You need to get something new,like I remember actually when I
(17:14):
had my brand out just for threemonths, as you know, kind of a
trial.
But, as I was saying, anthracollection is such a slow
collection that is not going tohave seasonal updates not always
and I was in a shop in Denmarkactually for three months, so it
did great for Christmas, likewhen I didn't really do any push
on marketing it because it'sjust a trial.
(17:35):
It took off on its own.
But came Chinese New Year, thesame customer went back to the
same shop asking if my brand hassomething new for them
Interesting, and I did it, yeah,yeah.
So I mean, I do realize how thedifficulty here occasionally is
people really want somethingnew, and it's not just a new
(17:56):
style, it's.
They literally want a new piece, for whatever reason it is.
Louisa Dearlove (18:01):
It's tough, it's really hard.
You know, for all of thosereasons that you just said, and
I definitely was naive coming inI thought, right, I'm going to
launch this like rental andresale site and it's been a
really successful business model, like elsewhere in the world,
and people did not really theydid not know what it was.
You know, I've definitely hadto focus a lot on the education
(18:21):
side of things and, you're right, there is a stigma and
especially in Asia, it's muchmore kind of like wanting you,
and so that has definitely beena challenge for sure.
I think, yeah, there's I mean,there's no good answer for it,
because it's definitely achallenge that I I'm like facing
day to day.
And I think what I want to kindof lean into, the messaging I
(18:41):
want to lean into, is that ideathat someone everyone does want
something new all the time.
Just because something isn'tlike fresh, new from the package
, it doesn't mean it can't benew to them.
And going into that idea oflike, actually, yes, I do want
to wear a different outfit everyweek.
Ok, that's great, you don'thave to buy a new outfit every
week, you can just rent a newoutfit every week and you can
rent, like these amazing brandsthat normally would cost you
(19:03):
know thousands of dollars for afraction of the price.
So leaning into that messagingand making, trying to get people
to understand like actually byrenting you can have such a
variety of choice on like brandsand styles and, um, yeah,
trying different trends as well.
But it's an issue and it's it'schanging consumer habits, which
is so difficult, and the waythat we all are, the world is
(19:26):
set up.
Fast fashion is easy.
Fast fashion is so easy and youknow everything.
You know all these like newpieces are available to us, like
people doing kind of all thedifferent seasonal trends and
things like that, and so it's areal education piece.
I'm trying to get people tounderstand and change those
consumer habits, which is sodifficult.
Hoiki Liu (19:44):
It is, I think, and I mean I understand we're both
going into schools to do thesetypes of education.
Now that we're both going intoschools to do these types of
education, now, I was just at aninternational school last week
where I was speaking to a groupof kids about sustainable
fashion and there was one of thestudents who was looking.
They were looking at my website.
(20:05):
They looked at my website atthe price of the pieces and she
said you know, it's not that Idon't like the things here, but
they seem kind of expensive,given these kids are, you know,
15 to 17, something like that.
And I understand that.
But I asked her just on herconsumer habits when's the last
time you went shopping?
(20:25):
How did you shop?
Where did you shop from?
How many things did you get?
You know things like that.
So she said the last time shebought something was online.
Something like a month ago shebought three items from shin.
Um, one of the items she hasnot worn.
She got it.
She said it's not really whatshe was expecting, what she
wanted, so she just left itaside.
Like you know, it's justsitting there somewhere in a
(20:48):
pile somewhere in her house.
Um, and then the two other items.
She says she's worn it aroundmaybe two to three times each,
but she doesn't want to wear itanymore now because it feels
like it's not trendy anymore.
And so what I explained to herat that moment is how much did
you play for those three itemsas shin, and if you actually
(21:09):
defied it out by not everwearing it or wearing it two to
three times?
It's, it's not that cheap.
Yeah, first is something thatyou can love for many years,
that you might wear.
Let me say, just say, if youwere something that you're
willing to wear once a week,maybe a pair of simple pants
that you can mix and match withdifferent things, in a year you
would have already wore it 52times exactly, exactly, and this
(21:30):
is this is you know why.
Louisa Dearlove (21:32):
Like this is both what we're, obviously, you
know, talking to people aboutwhat is so important, and it's
all about that quality overquantity, which is so difficult
when you've got that cheap pricetag in front of you and you're
like great, I just want to havethat now.
But I so, if I think of mywardrobe and what has been in it
for, let's say, say like fiveplus years, is when I've spent
(21:52):
on those high quality pieces andit's when I've invested in
those pieces.
So it's about kind of thateducation of like, actually you
need, you should invest in thoselike high quality everyday kind
of work pieces that are goingto last you and then rent for
like the fun, like those fun,like events and, like you know,
even just like going out on aFriday night and things like
(22:13):
that.
Like I think that's the biggestconsumer habit I'm trying to
change.
It's that weekly okay, I'mgoing out with some friends
tonight, I'm going for dinner orthis, like I want to wear
something nice and running downto Zara and just buying
something immediately which I'mnever going to wear again, okay,
it's fine.
Just like, hop onto fun chiangand just select something and
it's.
You know it's a community, soeveryone is in hong kong,
(22:35):
everyone is based like prettyclose by like just rent
something instead which is likeout there and fun and a new
brand.
But it's so tricky to you know,do that education piece around,
getting people to understandthat she, like spending more is,
is actually you long-termspending less?
Um, but it's, I know it'sfantastic and that's why I love
speaking to you and like theanthro collection is such an
(22:56):
amazing it's like amazing brandof what you guys are doing,
messaging one of the things Iwas telling the kids besides
like paying less now, it's justyou're just not paying for the
consequence later on.
Hoiki Liu (23:07):
And it's not just you are not paying for the
consequence later on is we'reall paying for that consequence
later on.
And I had to explain to them.
Actually, the day that I hadthe talk with them was the
hottest day in record of in junefor hong kong ever.
It got up to 38 degrees, oh mygosh.
So I was explaining to them onthat day like you guys probably
(23:28):
won't realize this becauseyou're still, you know, in your
first 20 years of life there'sstill a lot of things to
experience and just to absorb.
But you wouldn't know what waswhat it was before that and when
I was young like june was notin the 30s, you know june was
like maybe 28 degrees.
(23:48):
Now we're talking about thehottest day.
I mean it was like the top ofthe mountain, on the peak.
It was 38 degrees, but it'sstill crazy.
Like global warming, there aredays where it's not just 1.5
degrees higher, it's muchcrazier than that.
So I was explaining to them.
You know we are already livingin consequences of what the past
(24:09):
generations have done.
They may not realize this isthe consequence, but on a day
like june they shouldn't have tobe in an air-conditioned room?
Louisa Dearlove (24:16):
no, absolutely, and it's just, it's the waste
as well, like I think you know,as you know, like the fashion
industry is the third largestpolluter, like in this, is it
second now?
Yeah, I mean the second now,and it's just crazy and it's
it's from yeah you know thewater usage to the waste.
And I see, and it's those, um,I mean those sheen like tiktok
(24:38):
hauls and like things like that,and I see and I'm like, oh,
that is just so many clothes andlike, honestly, the thing is,
it's tricky because I remember,if I'm being really honest, when
I was 16, I was addicted tozara.
Yeah, I was so addicted to zaraand I was so into this desire
and I remember it was almostlike a thing of pride, like
going in and like buying as manythings as possible.
Hoiki Liu (24:55):
I don't have any of those items anymore and those
are all just somewhere in like ahuge kind of like waste
facility and that's what's wildand it's trying to, yeah, change
that, that conversation, andbecause, at the end of the day,
if you just want to look fresh,really renting something I'm
sure most people who's puttingtheir things out for rent is
going to be a higher qualitypiece, because no one's going to
(25:18):
rent your garments from Shin orH&M.
Louisa Dearlove (25:21):
Like no one needs that.
No, and we don't accept kind offast fashion brands.
We maintain that we have, like,high quality items.
Hoiki Liu (25:29):
There's always a value in it if it's high quality
items.
Louisa Dearlove (25:33):
So if you really do want something new for
that, you know that night outrenting something that would
elevate you instead of buyingsomething that is just no, you
know exactly, and actually oneof my kind of like top tips of
friendship now is there's two orthree women on the platform
that I know are the same size asme and I really like their
style, so I just keep going backto their things and I'm renting
(25:56):
those.
Something that I should mentionas well that we've just
recently launched is we'velaunched a resale tab on there
as well, because we found that alot of people were saying we've
got lots of items we want torent, but actually we've got a
lot of like high quality pieces,like contemporary fashion
pieces that we would love aswell to sell.
Hoiki Liu (26:12):
So we've started selling some items as well, and
I'm sure there might be thatperson who wore this dress one
night and they loved it so muchthey kind of want to keep it
from themselves exactly.
Louisa Dearlove (26:21):
Yeah, we've had a few people that they rented
and said like oh, I actuallylove it, can I buy it?
And.
And the lender's like fantastic, yes, please.
Hoiki Liu (26:28):
And I love how you said um, there's a few women
that you know is now your size.
It's almost like I don't know,without having this being part
of the, the reason for why thisplatform was built.
Louisa Dearlove (26:39):
But you're kind of building a community,
absolutely, and I think that isso much like what it is about.
It's building this community.
The idea came from like sharingfrom your friend's wardrobe.
It's like the idea that you seesomething your friend's wearing
like I love that so much.
I want that and that's what Ireally want the kind of the
ethos to be is sharing like fromyour friend's wardrobe and
building that community.
(26:59):
And building that community of,uh, you know that circular
fashion economy, but also thatwe don't need to compromise,
like we can still wearincredible clothes and we can
still have amazing style, butjust change it and old-fashioned
habits because, if you know,you start to get to know the
(27:20):
lender or the renter um you alsowill have that much more faith
in what you're getting.
Absolutely, it's building.
It's building that trust andbuilding that trust in community
.
Hoiki Liu (27:25):
Yeah, that's beautiful um, I actually want to
ask first, is there any successstories or something that's
really you know that you thought, oh, this happened between our
members, or once we got thisdress and whatever happened to
it?
Is there something that'sreally like I?
Louisa Dearlove (27:42):
need to tell you to start.
Um, a friend of mine had a babyat the end of last year and she
, you know, was going through astage where she's like nothing
fits me.
I hate kind of all the clothes,and she and we had a lot of
friends who have like bigparties coming up and stuff,
just really want to come to thembut I'm just not feeling myself
(28:03):
.
And she rented like all hereverything that she wore to
those events over the six monthsfrom fushiyang and she was like
this is great, because it'sitems that are making me feel
good.
They're not in my usual size,they're not something that I
would normally kind of buy, andit was just so wonderful because
she was coming to these events,just like feeling like herself,
like being able to, being ableto try like different items that
(28:26):
she could just rent now andthen, yeah, later on she doesn't
.
She like now then they're'renot her size anymore, so she's
going to lose and that's allshe's done.
Hoiki Liu (28:34):
I'm sure she will feel like I.
I actually I had the samefeeling after giving birth.
I feel I feel guilty for buyingnew things because I know my
body shape is going to changeagain, but at the same time I
can't keep worrying what I waswearing and while I was pregnant
.
Yeah, so I literally left outof leggings and just sports for,
(28:56):
I think, a year until I gotback to my shape.
But I was quite unhappy for thewhole year.
I mean, I was happy with mylife, my family, but I was quite
unhappy with how I actuallylooked.
So I remember I didn't want totake pictures.
I didn't really want to takepictures.
I would take pictures of mykids, my husband and my kids,
but I'd be like I don't reallywant to be in the picture for
that exact reason.
I don't feel myself yet andnone of my clothes fit me.
Louisa Dearlove (29:20):
Exactly so.
It was like an opportunity forher to try different styles.
I wish I was Fenxiang when Iwas going through that time.
Yeah, that was good, good, andactually someone the other day
they rented, so we've got acouple of amazing suits on there
.
So I would say the majority ofthe items we have are very much
like for event dressing, likeweddings, big parties and things
(29:41):
like that.
But we've got a couple of likeamazing kind of like power suits
on there which a few peoplehave rented, and someone rented
one last week because she wasinterviewing at a fashion house
and it was amazing.
She ended up getting gettingthe job.
She was interviewing at afashion house and it was amazing
.
She ended up getting the job.
She was like I felt just sopowerful going in in this great
suit and yeah, it really workedfor me and she was like but I
didn't need that suit Like overand over again, I just needed it
(30:03):
for that moment.
So that was really cool.
Hoiki Liu (30:06):
I think it would be especially great for A few items
.
Obviously, offense andoccasional wear that is not
something that you'll want towear repeatedly, and even
sometimes very brightly coloredor fashion and trendy things.
I mean, it might be you forthis moment, but maybe not all
the time.
I also think we do need tospeak to more kids who are
(30:31):
searching for themselves thestyle, like you know, to see
what looks good on them, forthem to explore fashion in a way
where there is it's lessweightful.
Louisa Dearlove (30:42):
Absolutely, yeah, definitely.
And it's that.
And that's one of obviously thebiggest problems of fast
fashion is those trends and likepeople wanting to try all those
trends, and so they do, theylike go to sheen and they like
buy all of those, but actuallyrenting gives you that option of
like actually I can try allthese trends, I can see kind of
what works and what doesn't work, right, and without having this
of the wasteful wastefulness ofbuying it and I was explaining
(31:03):
to the students.
Hoiki Liu (31:04):
it's bringing us back to the girl who said she rather
buys me from shin just becauseshe can try, but then after
either not wearing it or two,three, she realized it's not
really for her kind of thing.
I mean, in that same breath ofhearing all of those stories, I
also told them, you know.
Oh, actually, because when Iwas in there that day, I think
Chanel just either came out withthe news that morning or the
(31:25):
night before about Neve Old, howthey were starting a second,
not a second.
Their second starting Neve Oldis basically they're using the
old inventory to recreate andredesign new things.
One of the reasons stating thatis because all these luxurious
materials that we know ofnowadays your wools, your silks,
your leathers the supply isdepreciating and so it's getting
(31:49):
more and more expensive to buythese luxe items because the raw
materials cost so much more.
And I was explaining tostudents.
You know Chanel's alreadymaking this move.
It tells you a few things.
The first thing I will say iswe all actually need to take
care of our planet right now,and it's already a little bit
too late, but we cannot delayany longer, mainly because you
(32:13):
know we're talking about how thenatural resources are
depreciating.
This is because of globalwarming, this is because of all
the weights we've created.
That's drowning.
You know our earth, it's inpollution.
So you know, at their tender ageof 15, right now, this is a
luxury, I said, possibly by thetime you're 30, this will be
(32:35):
priceless.
Like you won't even be able toget it.
There might be no more fieldsfor sheep to graze on.
Cotton's not growing properlybecause of global warming.
You know.
You were talking about organiccotton now, but maybe cotton
just.
Even if you're adding all thechemicals, it won't even grow
properly anymore.
Silkworms no more silk, becausesilkworms can't live in this
(32:56):
extreme heat, you know.
So all of it is going to add upand then, by the time when you
have no more choice butpolyester, it's really going to
be way too late.
Louisa Dearlove (33:07):
Yeah, exactly, it's so interesting.
I saw that, yeah, that movethat Chanel are doing and it's
fantastic, and I think that'swhat is going to really make a
difference is those kind ofthose high fashion houses.
It's really starting to makethose changes, because there's
already behind the scenes likelots of changes being made, like
in the design process and themanufacturing, as you know.
But I think definitely, yeah,it's some big moves from Chanel
(33:29):
and I think we're hopefullygoing to see that that's going
to turn into much more of atrend.
And I've seen other kind ofsmaller brands.
There's, um, there's an amazingbrand in the UK called Rixo and
they, uh, they noticed that somany of their items were being
rented on various rental sites,so they just launched their own,
their own rental side of thebusiness.
I think they've actuallyrecently partnered with one of
those rental sites because theyidentified that so many, uh
(33:53):
people were like wearing theirdresses for weddings, so they
just leaned into like okay,actually we're gonna be part of
this as well and like be part ofthat rental journey.
So, yeah, it's great to seekind of brands also kind of
taking.
Hoiki Liu (34:05):
yeah and I think they all, we all kind of need to,
because you know kids wereasking me about like outlets
even and I think a lot of peopledon't realize this actually and
most of your outlets they sellmade to go Like.
They sell outlet lines thatthey order from the factory.
This is not stuff that's frompast and very left out Most of
the time, past inventory.
This is I was telling that asjust imagine or like.
(34:28):
We've all seen this becausethere's so many malls and
shopping centers and shops ingeneral in Hong Kong.
We've all seen.
You know your H&M or your Uniqlogo on sale.
You know full shop of things onsale and then they go on
further discount and then theygo to final sale.
By the time it's final salethree weeks later it's still a
shop full of inventory and youknow there is more in the
(34:51):
warehouse.
Still it's crazy inventory andyou know there is more in the
warehouse still crazy.
So the day where it's finalinventory and the next day they
flip over and sell a brand newseason, what do you think
happened to everything that wasstill in the shop when they
closed that night?
Yeah, you know it's so scary.
It's so crazy because we allknow everyone is over producing
right um and going back to thechanel thing, and now we know
(35:15):
they're starting this newventure, but at the same time,
what does that tell us aboutwhat they were previously doing?
Yes, yeah, absolutely, and Ithink that is for every brand
and everybody, from fast fashionto your high luxury, because
protecting your brand name andIP has always been something
that was so important.
But I think it's time to lookat the importance of that and
(35:36):
the importance of where ourworld is going right.
Absolutely.
So we need there's so manyproblems and we definitely need
more solutions like Fenxiang.
Louisa Dearlove (35:45):
Absolutely, and I think that's just that's.
What's so important is, youknow, we can't just say like
stop buying or like stop having,you know, stop having access to
amazing fashion.
Like that's that's our biggestthing is like we are not saying
that we need to compromise onthat.
It's just we have to change thehabits, we have to shift those
habits to become moresustainable, and there are so
(36:06):
many amazing solutions anddifferent options.
It's just changing that mindsetand that's that's what the
biggest challenge is, but alsoit's it's what's got to happen,
definitely.
So it's great to see like bigbusinesses kind of doing that,
because I think they can reallylead the way on it.
Yes, but definitely you know aslike the everyday person, that
they can.
Hoiki Liu (36:25):
They can make those more sustainable choices as well
one more thing I like to add isa lot of people buying new it's
because they think it's it's ahygiene issue.
Half of it, yes, yes, and thatis the biggest like lie.
Yeah, that is not true.
Like buying new clothes is it'snot clean.
New things usually aren't clean.
They've gone through millionsof people's of hands.
(36:47):
So when I explain the supplychain from the raw materials to
you know we making yarns, fromthe yarns, weaving or knitting
the fabrics, and then to thecutting um sewing things
together, ironing things likefusing on all of these parts,
people adding on buttons, pack,inspecting your, your clothes,
(37:10):
packing in a bag everything Ijust said is done by a different
person.
Louisa Dearlove (37:14):
This is so great to hear from your point of
view, the manufacturing sidebecause obviously which isn't a
surprise and which is acompletely fair question we get
a lot of questions about hygieneand items appearing new.
But that is so true it'sdisgusting.
That's what it is.
Yeah, exactly, even on a shopfloor, people are going through
(37:36):
items all the time and stufflike that.
Hoiki Liu (37:38):
And I think, because they took it from the stock room
, it's still in a polyester bag,but you need to think about
what happened before.
It was packaged in a polyesterbag Exactly.
Even if it's something that'sbeen laundered at one point
After the laundering point,there's still many, many steps
it goes through before it getsinto a package Exactly exactly
Most of the time, our items.
Louisa Dearlove (37:59):
they're dry, cleaned and then just put back
in someone's cupboard and thenthey're picked up again to
deliver to the renters.
That is actually much cleaner.
That's probably much cleanerand way less steps.
So actually, yeah, that'ssomething I need to talk about a
lot more.
As you can imagine, it's a bigquestion.
We get, which is so fair enough.
Hoiki Liu (38:24):
We have T's and C's in place, that making sure that
all of our items are up to thehigh standard that we expect
that we would want all of ouritems to be delivered.
As a garment manufacturer, Ialways tell my friends, whenever
I buy something new, I alwayswash it first.
Louisa Dearlove (38:32):
Yes, it's so interesting.
Everyone I meet who's like infashion in the real, like kind
of garment, like manufacturingside, always say that, yeah.
Hoiki Liu (38:42):
So I love to.
I love to share that with youso you can, hopefully.
You know, I feel like a bigsegment.
It's used, it's old, it's clean.
It's one of the main things.
But with everything that wetalked about today, I'm super
excited about the partnershipwe're going to be building,
going forward.
So excited, yeah, so I'm goingto be putting the entire Anthra
(39:02):
collection onto Fenxiang.
As you know, anthra collectionbeing such a slow collection,
extremely slow fashion, doesn'talways have something new every
season.
We don't have a retail spacethat we can constantly be in,
because you know, when you gointo a shop, people are looking
for something new.
So I'm super happy to have aplatform like yours where I can
(39:23):
actually share my garments withthe potential customer who's
unsure of the quality, maybe, orunsure of the sizing and fit.
Now they can actually get itsomewhere for um, for rental,
and see if they like it firstbefore they decide if they want
to purchase and if they do not,or if they only want to wear it
for their occasion.
Louisa Dearlove (39:40):
That's fine too .
Absolutely, we are so excitedto be partnering with you and,
honestly, just so honored,because everything that your
brand is about is, like, so trueto Fenxiang and the whole kind
of like slow fashion side, as,as well as, honestly, anthro
Collection have so manyfantastic items, so all of our
users are in for a treat, sothey're going to have so many
incredible options.
So really excited for it.
(40:01):
Thank you so much.
Yes, thank you.
Hoiki Liu (40:03):
So I think we might have covered everything we
needed to today.
Great, yes, and I'm sure I'mgoing to have you back again,
because, as the platform evolves, we're gonna talk about how
it's changed absolutely and it'sjust been.
Louisa Dearlove (40:20):
yeah, it's been such a joy to chat to you and,
like speak with someone who's sopassionate on this, on this
subject as well, and I justthink that you know we we share
that same mission of we reallywant to see those, um, those
fashion habits like thosebecoming more, but we don't need
to compromise on havingincredible clothes and
incredible style as well.
We can still have that.
So it's just been wonderful tochat to you and learn more about
(40:42):
your business as well.
Hoiki Liu (40:43):
Thank you so much for your time today.
Thank you you.
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