The Return of Physical Fashion Rentals in L.A.
Experiential fashion retail is nothing new. But Max Feldmann and Kyle Julian Skye are bringing it to the rental space — and IRL.
“We’re not just an archive house,” said Feldmann, former men’s buyer at Fred Segal. “We’re if Soho House, Barneys New York and Blockbuster had a baby.”
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The duo — behind vintage platforms Recess Worldwide and Middleman Store, respectively — teamed to open a physical rental business in Los Angeles in 2023: Wild West Social House. Located in West Hollywood, it’s a membership-based concept offering services like delivery, pickup and same-day tailoring. There’s a social element, too, with a rooftop for hangouts, and they’ve partnered with neighboring Dialog Cafe for drink and food orders.
“We just kind of want to return to the actual luxury experience of making a day out of going to a store and enjoying it and being able to soak up some sun on the roof,” said Skye. “And being able to eat or have a bite with your friends and catch up and then come down and look through your clothes and just bring that kind of slower, more, you know, consumer-tailored vision to a boutique.”
They currently have more than 50 members, catering to professional stylists, celebrities and fashion lovers, with a small waitlist joining at the end of January. Both Feldmann and Skye have an eye for curation, bringing together a globally sourced selection of specialty items; pieces, which are also available for purchase, include finds like a silk embroidered “Life is Pain” top from Alexander McQueen’s fall 1996 “Dante” collection and ’70s “Punk Gang” muslin shirt by Vivienne Westwood.
Membership has three tiers: $299 a month for six items (up to three items per pull, or $3,000 in total value) for three days, $499 a month for 12 items (up to four items, or $4,000, with free delivery and pick-up in L.A.) for four days, and $999 a month with no limit on items (up to 15 per pull, both accessories and shoes included) for 10 days, with all services including temporary tailoring.
They plan to launch an app that would allow members to track their rentals, new in-store arrivals, order the services, and so on.
“You’d log in as a member, and we’d already have all of your sizes,” explained Feldmann. “We have your clients’ sizes, and so you’re actually able to filter in size and you’re not going through thousands of pieces. You’re really just going through sizes that would potentially work for you or your clients.”
“We consider this a million-dollar wardrobe for less than the price of a Prada T-shirt,” added Skye.
For Janet Mandell, business began in Chicago in 2018 and she’s grown to expand to L.A. and New York in 2023.
“I don’t follow trends,” said Mandell, whose L.A. showroom is on North La Cienega Boulevard, south of Santa Monica Boulevard. “I do follow the color palettes. And I do follow what people are buying, but that doesn’t necessarily relate to what we buy. I guess our focus is really vintage and eveningwear.”
On a busy day, L.A. brings in about 10 clients a day. The assortment is high-end, from Chanel to Oscar de la Renta, with contemporary brands like Acne and Dries Van Noten. While Chicago seeks more conservative looks — gowns for galas, mostly — in L.A. “it’s all about cutout. It’s all about showing skin,” Mandell went on. “It’s mostly celebrities that come in, stylists. We do cater to a lot of influencers, style-makers, socialites. A lot of girls in L.A. want over-the-top vintage gowns or, you know, something that’s sexy.”
Pricing starts at $300 for a four-day rental, with shoes at $150. There’s an additional showroom fee of $75 an hour and a $50 non-refundable styling fee.
“Because of COVID[-19], everybody wants to get more glammed up and dressed up than they usually do,” Mandell said of clients. “They want to really make a statement. They don’t want black. They really want colorful, outstanding pieces.”
She hopes to open in Miami this year and Dallas in 2025.
“I would say my exit plan is 10 years, and I would love to sell to a big conglomerate fashion house, whether it be Kering, LVMH,” she said. “I do have an exit plan.”
L.A. native Haile Lidow of Lidow Archive has a passion for vintage — no matter the designer name. She gravitates toward the fantasy.
“I do kind of err on the side of more like kooky and eccentric,” she said, accumulating nearly 9,000 pieces.
Her showroom is in the hills of Los Feliz, where regulars have been celebrity stylists, costume designers and photographers. She’s currently focused on attracting a new clientele: “I would really like to also just work with people who are going to events, going to weddings, just love clothes and want to have things fun to wear that they know that they don’t need to buy because they only want to wear it to one thing.”
Lidow Archive has become the go-to destination for unique finds — which have found themselves on the likes of Rihanna, Beyoncé and Miley Cyrus on the stage, music videos, red carpets and photo shoots. Prices range from $40 to $1,300 an item (the latter being a Gucci by Tom Ford spring 2000 one-shoulder rhinestone dress), with a $250 rental minimum per pull.
“I remember seeking out things and saving up to buy them when I was, like, 11,” said Lidow, who has a background in both fashion at Vogue and public relations at Black Frame. “And, you know, I still have them in the archives now.”
Her latest obsession? “I’ve been really, really into suits and matching sets. I’ve been looking for 1970s three-piece suits,” she said.
An item she’s particularly known for is the sky-high Marc Jacobs “Kiki” platform, found in many styles and colors. “I really love collecting.”
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