Rent the Runway
Designer clothing rentals perfect for red carpet events, premieres, and industry parties
Overview
Rent the Runway lets you borrow designer dresses, suits, and accessories for a fraction of their retail price. For actors attending premieres, award shows, industry parties, or press events, it provides access to high-end fashion without the commitment of purchasing.
The service works through monthly subscription plans or one-time rentals. You select pieces online, they arrive at your door, and you return them after wearing. The experience is seamless and includes backup sizes for important events.
How It Works
The platform carries designers like Badgley Mischka, Jason Wu, Marchesa, and hundreds of others that regularly appear on red carpets. You can filter by event type, body shape, and style to find exactly what you need.
Subscription plans range from $95 to $235 per month, allowing you to rotate multiple items. One-time rentals are also available for individual events, typically at 10 to 20 percent of the retail price.
Who Uses It
A smart financial move for actors who attend multiple industry events each year but do not want to buy a new outfit every time. The subscription model is especially valuable during awards season and festival circuits. Rent the Runway also offers a growing selection of everyday designer pieces for industry meetings, press interviews, and networking events where looking polished matters but buying new is impractical. Their recent expansion into accessories, handbags, and jewelry rentals means you can complete an entire head-to-toe look through a single platform.
Pricing & Plans
Rent the Runway offers several pricing tiers as of 2025 to accommodate different usage levels and budgets. The base subscription plan starts at $95 per month and allows you to rent a limited number of items at a time, suitable for actors who attend one or two events monthly. The mid-tier plan at approximately $144 per month expands the number of simultaneous rentals and provides more flexibility for swapping items throughout the month. The top-tier unlimited plan costs $235 per month and offers the most items at a time with unlimited swaps, ideal for actors during busy awards seasons or press tours. One-time rentals without a subscription are available for individual events, typically priced at 10 to 20 percent of the garment's retail value. Insurance for accidental damage is included in all rental plans, which removes the anxiety of wearing expensive pieces to events. Compared to purchasing the designer garments outright, which can cost $500 to $5,000 or more per piece, even the top-tier subscription represents extraordinary value for actors who need to appear in different designer looks regularly.
Pros & Cons
What's Great
Rent the Runway's most compelling strength is providing access to genuine designer pieces from labels like Oscar de la Renta, Badgley Mischka, Marchesa, and Jason Wu that would otherwise be financially out of reach for most working actors. The backup size feature, which sends a second size of your primary selection at no extra cost for important events, is a thoughtful touch that reduces the stress of fit uncertainty. The platform's extensive user reviews with real photos from actual renters give you a much more accurate sense of how garments look on real bodies than studio product photography alone. Unlimited swaps on higher-tier plans mean you can experiment with different looks and return pieces that do not work without financial penalty. The convenience of home delivery and prepaid return shipping eliminates the need to visit physical stores, which is valuable for actors with unpredictable schedules. The subscription model transforms what would be a massive lump-sum wardrobe expense into a predictable monthly cost that is easier to budget around irregular acting income.
What Could Be Better
Popular styles and sizes book up quickly during peak event seasons like awards season and holiday galas, which means you may not always get your first-choice garment when you need it most. The subscription cost adds up over time, and actors who attend only a handful of events per year may find one-time rentals or consignment purchases more cost-effective than maintaining a monthly plan. Garment condition varies between rentals, and while items are professionally cleaned between uses, some pieces show more wear than others, particularly shoes and heavily rented dresses. The return logistics require planning ahead, as late returns incur significant fees that can erode the cost savings of renting versus buying. Size availability is not guaranteed, and the platform's sizing can differ from standard retail sizing for the same designer, leading to occasional fit issues. The environmental impact of frequent shipping, dry cleaning, and the inherent fast-consumption model of rental fashion is a valid concern that sustainability-minded actors should weigh.
Our Recommendation
We recommend Rent the Runway for actors who attend four or more industry events, premieres, or red carpet occasions per year and want to wear different designer looks each time without building a permanent designer wardrobe. The mid-tier and top-tier subscription plans offer the best value for actors during busy seasons like awards circuit, film festival attendance, or press tour commitments. If you attend only one or two formal events annually, one-time rentals or purchasing from consignment platforms like The RealReal will likely be more economical. Actors who primarily need everyday audition wardrobe rather than event wear should focus their budget on retail basics from Zara or H&M instead. For male actors, the selection is more limited than womenswear, and SuitSupply may offer better value for building a permanent formal wardrobe. Consider pausing your subscription during quiet months when you have no events on the calendar to avoid paying for unused access.
Pro Tips
Book your rentals at least two weeks before your event, and even earlier during peak awards season from January through March, to ensure the widest selection of available styles and sizes. Always order the backup size option for important events, as designer sizing is notoriously inconsistent and a perfectly fitting garment makes a far better impression than one you are adjusting all night. Read the user reviews carefully and pay particular attention to reviews from renters with similar body measurements to yours, as their fit feedback will be most relevant to your experience. Plan your return shipping the day after your event and schedule a pickup rather than dropping off at a shipping location, as this reduces the risk of late return fees. Use the heart and save features to build a wish list of pieces you love, then monitor their availability calendar so you can book them as soon as your event date is confirmed. Take full-length photos in every rental for your own records, as these images serve as a visual archive of your public appearances that your agent or publicist may find useful.