Taking risks is rarely in style. I learned this more than a decade ago when I had this wild idea of a Closet in the Cloud — designer clothes that would be shared by all and owned by none. It was bold. It was new. And it was a terrible idea, according to the majority of people we spoke to about it.

In the early days, the barriers were endless for our small team with big dreams. We were told no over and over again: No designers are going to work with you. Sharing clothes isn’t cool, and women won’t do it. There is no way you will change the fashion industry. You’re crazy, it’ll never catch on. No one will invest in this. Women are not cut out to be great entrepreneurs.

But we weren’t wrong — we were just first. We believed renting could change the way women dress and power them to feel their best every day. We believed our shared closet could broaden your options, brighten your style, fuel your confidence, support your budget, and reduce your environmental impact. It was a huge risk to think thousands of people would buy into the concept of renting clothes. Then the craziest thing happened: millions of women did. You did. 

You believed in our wild idea. You believed that fashion isn’t just for the elite but for anyone with style, curiosity and imagination. For the past 12+ years, you believed in RTR — and kept pushing us to be bolder, take bigger risks and challenge more expectations. 

And today, with your support, we’re making fashion history. This morning, Rent the Runway became a publicly traded company, the first ever to do so with a female founder/CEO, CFO and COO. 

^{CFO Scarlett O’Sullivan, CEO & Co-Founder Jenn Hyman, COO/President Anushka Salinas}

We’re so grateful to everyone who shared their clothes, ideas and voices with us. Thank you for helping us turn the Closet in the Cloud into a force for change, access and sustainability. We will continue building this new future because when we share it all, we have it all.

This is just the beginning. 

Jenn Hyman 

CEO and Co-Founder