Airrobe Founder Hannon Cornazzetta is Transforming the Way People Access the Latest Fashions
Tech that lets fashionistas rent or sell their wardrobe is a runway to a sustainable circular economy – and brands and retailers love it.
Need to know
Founder: Hannon Comazzetto (below), 30
First customer: The Fashion Advocate, 2021
Offices: New York (headquarters), San Francisco, Sydney, Melbourne
Investors: Sugar Capital, Tidal Ventures, Blackbird Ventures, Investible, Alberts Impact Capital, Paul Greenberg, Rachel Kelly
Staff: 21
What is it?
When customers buy a new fashion item online from one of more than 150 AirRobe partners, they can add the product to their Circular Wardrobe (which AirRobe has trademarked). “Product information and the accompanying professional imagery is saved to their account,” explains CEO and founder Hannon Comazzetto, so AirRobe users can later resell, rent or recycle these items “with one click”. Comazzetto recalls helping friends resell items on Ebay. “Most of us have endured taking photos of the black dress on the bed or hanging on the back of a door. We make it easy.”
Where did the idea come from?
“Our goal is to keep quality, pre-loved clothing in circulation and away from landfill,” says Comazzetto, who’s been a thrift-shopper since she was young. “When e-commerce became huge, it struck me that products have been photographed and described with the information you need to sell them online.” She saw an opportunity to work with brands to “make ‘recommerce’ seamless for their customers” by giving consumers access to that collateral.
How did it get it off the ground?
The idea was to “intercept fashion when it’s purchased” so it lived longer. The first step was getting brands and retailers on board – current partners include The Iconic, Oroton, General Pants Co. and Ginger & Smart – and the technology to make the marketplace frictionless was key. “More than 85 per cent of what we wear ends up in landfill,” says Comazzetto. “Building a circular economy means that we re-use these valuable resources.” AirRobe has 50,000 users around the world, a customer base that she was confident was waiting. “Gen Zs and Millennials want brand-led conscious fashion.”
Biggest challenge?
In the beginning, it was getting retailers to understand the benefits of offering a circular-economy solution for their clients. “There’s an old-hat view that allowing your customers to resell their items can harm your primary sales but we now have many case studies that show the opposite is true.” She says data reveals there are financial benefits and improved loyalty as shoppers see the lifetime value of their purchases.
What’s next?
“We’re building and scaling the technology so we can share this concept across any industry that has products that can live on.” Circular consumables in their sights include homewares, appliances and baby products, which obviously have a short life for their original users.
