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Headed somewhere warm? Simon Miller, a California-cool brand best known for its playful prints and vibrant colors, just launched an exclusive 14-piece vacation capsule with the rental platform, Rent the Runway. The collection—which launches on March 12 and features signature Simon Miller pieces like sleek striped separates and vacation-ready dresses—is part of Rent the Runway’s larger initiative to provide their customers with access to the most sought-after fashion by way of exclusive-to-the-site designer collections, which includes collaborations with Rabanne and Plan C.
“Launching this exclusive collaboration with Simon Miller will give our customers more of what they love: newness, variety, and exclusivity to Rent the Runway from the world’s leading brands,” Jenn Hyman, CEO co-founder of Rent the Runway, tells Vogue. A union of visions, Hyman says both teams worked hand in hand to co-create and manufacture this collection, “allowing us to design pieces that align with what we know RTR members want.”
For Chelsea Hansford, Simon Miller’s creative director and CEO, joining design forces with RTR was similarly a no-brainer. “We’ve been working with Rent the Runway for a long time, so when they approached us with this new collective idea, it felt really interesting to me,” she recalls. Because RTR is a rental platform at its core, Hansford felt as though she had more creative liberty when it came to actually designing the pieces. “They were more willing to take a risk when it comes to the designs–they wanted the collaboration to feel very expressive, bold, colorful, and forward.” That sense of freedom influenced the process itself: “It was a good opportunity to express ourselves and not be met with so much commercial resistance–these collabs are always really fun for me,” Hansford says.
Beyond the chance to stretch her more creative muscles, Hansford also sees the collaboration as an opportunity to reach a new customer base. “It’s an entry to a whole different audience–to people that wouldn’t necessarily take the risk first-hand or maybe wouldn’t discover us otherwise.”
It is Hansford’s hope that customers will arrive at the Simon Miller x Rent the Runway collection and feel excited and inspired about crafting a vibrant vacation capsule wardrobe. Unlike RTR’s typical customer, who might skew more occasion, one-time-only based, Hansford sees the Simon Miller x Rent the Runway girl adding at least five fabulous pieces to their cart. Shoppers are encouraged to wear the breezy striped sets as cover-ups atop their bikinis or intarsia-printed dresses everywhere from daytime excursions to festive nights out.
As for RTR’s rental-first model, she recognizes the power of trying before you buy: “Ultimately, if you fall in love with a piece, you’re going to want to own it. Rental is going to scratch that itch,” she says. Because customers also have the option to purchase their Simon Miller x Rent the Runway item, Hansford says with a smile, “I hope they become a Simon Miller fan and then come back to our site and buy all of our striped tops.”
Speaking of striped Simon Miller tops, the 14-piece capsule collection has many–some of which come in what Hansford is calling “The Reef Blue,” a custom cobalt color designed specially for the collaboration. The collection’s overall theme is also aligned. Titled, “The Reef,” Hansford was inspired by everything from the graphics of the ocean world to sea anemones and starfish. She even dug into the Simon Miller archives during the design process, re-discovering a beloved aquatic print from the brand’s SS21 season that she then sprinkled onto some of the collection’s key pieces. “Everything was very [true to our] DNA. There’s nothing that I feel I wouldn’t have in my mainline—it’s all very much Simon Miller ‘best of’ and exclusive for RTR.”
Hansford concludes our call by telling me a story that, unbeknownst to her at the time, became the backbone of the Simon Miller x Rent the Runway collection. It began with one of her yearly trips back home to South Florida when her sister arrived solely with a cosmetics case and an unopened Rent the Runway box. “It was her entire wardrobe for the trip–it was how she wardrobed her vacation,” she remembers fondly. “I wanted to speak to that idea instead of just occasion dressing–here is your wardrobe for your entire vacation.” And of course, the Simon Miller x Rent the Runway collection does just that.
Wherever your summer or upcoming vacation takes you, Simon Miller x Rent the Runway has something for each and every sun-soaked occasion. “You’re bringing a vibe,” says Hansford. “It’s fun and funky, but oh so wearable at the same time.”
