– Ready to rent. Retail has never been the easiest business. Case in point: the recent 2025 Fortune 500, where only six apparel retailers make the cut among the largest 500 businesses in the U.S. But it’s a field where innovation never stops, from the earliest entrants into clothing rental to newer upstarts—who believe they can make a difficult category work.
The founders of Vivrelle just raised $62 million to prove that, Fortune is the first to report. Vivrelle offers a subscription service that allows customers to rent luxury accessories, mainly handbags and jewelry. Rather than the utility of an expanded wardrobe, it’s selling the dream of luxury. Husband-and-wife founders Wayne and Blake Griffin wrote the original business plan on their honeymoon in the Maldives after Blake had the idea in the lead-up to their wedding.
Vivrelle’s Series C round was funded entirely by the venture firm Protagonist, which describes itself as a “hands-on” firm that helps founders scale. Cofounder Wayne Geffen says the company is profitable and saw triple-digit growth in 2024.
The startup has positioned itself as a lifestyle brand, setting up in hotspots like the Hamptons and Four Seasons hotels to attract customers looking to add some designer flair to their outfits (which can also be shopped through a partnership with fashion retailer Revolve). Its inventory includes bags from Chanel, Prada, and YSL—and some of this $62 million will go toward adding big-ticket items.
At almost eight years old with about 100 employees, Vivrelle is part of the next generation of rental services—alongside an idea like Pickle, the peer-to-peer clothing rental service that capitalizes on trends while avoiding the headaches of inventory.
Vivrelle offers four membership tiers ranging from $45 to $309 a month. It’s hard to classify a membership as anything other than a budget “extra,” but for women who would otherwise be buying luxury items or who feel pressure to have a constant rotation of outfits on social media, it can be a mentally classified as a cost-saver—or just an accessible luxury. “It really is a fun, exciting service,” cofounder Wayne Geffen says. Like with most rental services, members have the option to eventually buy the items they rent.
The luxury focus cuts down on marketing costs, Blake Geffen adds. “We don’t have to market the accessories we have,” she says. “People know they want it.” Instead, Vivrelle is marketing a lifestyle—one whose trappings have become simultaneously more expected than ever, thanks to social media, while still out of reach economically for most people. “It’s having this lifestyle,” Blake Geffen says, “that some people can only dream of.”
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
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ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
- Lake levels up. Marianne Lake, a leading candidate to succeed JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, has just been handed more responsibility at the firm. Previously CFO, Lake leads the firm’s consumer and community banking division—and is now adding oversight of strategic growth and the fast-growing overseas consumer bank. (Lake is No. 19 on Fortune’s Most Powerful Women list.) Bloomberg
- Gun policy gone. Jane Fraser’s Citigroup has dropped its policy restricting dealings with firearm sellers, which the bank established after the Parkland school shooting in 2018. Also, Citi edited its code of conduct—now it “does not discriminate on the basis of political affiliation.” Financial Times
- Buying back. Huda Kattan is the latest female founder to buy back her beauty brand from its investor or acquirer. Like at Beautycounter, Taraji P. Henson’s TPH by Taraji, and Kim Kardashian’s SKKN, Kattan has bought out minority investor TSG Consumer Partners from Huda Beauty. Business of Fashion
- Feeling frustrated. President Donald Trump is reportedly frustrated with Justice Amy Coney Barrett and his other appointed Supreme Court justices. Trump has complained that Barrett hasn’t sufficiently backed his agendas, with his allies calling her “weak.” CNN
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
Bill, which serves small and midsize businesses with its financial operations platform, named Rohini Jain CFO. She was most recently CFO and SVP of large enterprise and merchant platforms at PayPal.
Pharma technology company Improzo appointed Jane Urban as chief data and analytics officer. Most recently, she was VP, customer engagement operations at Otsuka Pharmaceutical Companies (U.S.).
Partners Group, a private markets firm, appointed Anastasia Amoroso as managing director and chief investment strategist for private wealth and retirement. She most recently served as chief investment strategist at iCapital.
Clothing brand Pacsun named Rachel Donahue VP of HR. Most recently, she was VP, people and culture at Aritzia.
ON MY RADAR
The fertility conversation we’re not having Vox
After introducing Americans to period panties and affordable bidets, Miki Agrawal is back with diaper-eating mushrooms Inc.
Why women are leaving this Broadway show in tears New York Times
PARTING WORDS
“I didn’t have a corporate career before this. I’ve learned everything through trial and (lots of) error, from sourcing and branding to marketing.”
— House of CB founder Conna Walker on launching the now multimillion-pound fashion brand when she was 17