The fashion industry has long been plagued with allegations of unsustainable practices and harmful impact on the climate crisis. Entrepreneurs like Rosie Gunn are on a mission to change that.
In January 2018, Rosie quit her job as a fashion buyer to launch her company Endless. Initially launched in London and now the UAE, Endless is a comprehensive platform for reselling and renting clothing in the luxury space.
Having worked in fashion buying for half a decade, Rosie made the jump to make a more circular model in the form of Endless five years ago in the UK, bringing the concept to the UAE earlier this year.
With nearly six years under her belt as an entrepreneur, GRAZIA sits down with Rosie as part of The Career Edit to discuss what led her here and what she looks forward to in the coming years, for her and her brand.
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My current role is…
RG: Founder of Endless, the UAE’s first fashion rental & resale platform
When I was younger, I wanted to be…
RG: A fashion designer, I always loved clothes and style
My favourite subject at school was…
RG: I actually don’t think I had a favourite subject at school. I didn’t really like school and never felt like I was very good at it. I enjoyed Textiles and Business/Economics, though. I’m very creative, and found more ‘real-life’ business interesting, which is probably why I have ended up down this career path, as it’s kind of a combination of the two.
My first job was…
RG: My first ever job (whilst I was at school) was at a female founded womenswear boutique in my hometown – I absolutely loved it. In fact I loved working so much I used to skip school to go to work. I continued to work on brand shop-floors alongside school and university. My first job after university was an entry level buying position at a large British retailer in London, which I also loved. I knew that buying was what I wanted to do so I didn’t stop until I got a job doing it.
My career path so far has been…
RG: After studying a Fashion & Textiles Business degree at Manchester University, I had many internships under my belt. I then worked in buying at M&S for nearly five years – both womenswear and lingerie. Including the iconic Rosie Huntington-Whiteley collection which was a beautiful range to work on.
In 2018, I identified a gap in the market for fashion rental. Which differed from prom dress rental. So in January 2019 I left my job at M&S to set up Endless Wardrobe, the first fashion rental and resale platform in the UK. I ran Endless UK until 2022, before and then relocated to the UAE for many reasons. Not only because I’ve spent a lot of time (as I have family who live here), but also to set up Endless UAE. I noticed the fashion rental and resale market in the Middle East was behind. And currently, no one is doing it on a big scale. Endless UAE is the first fashion rental and resale platform, and I’m excited to bring circular fashion to the UAE!
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The role the UAE has played in my career is…
RG: The UAE had become my safe haven. Where I’d retreat from the chaos of my fast-paced life in the UK, for peace and inspiration. I would regularly visit my sister who lives her life here. And after many visits, I knew I had to make it my permanent home. I have such a love for the region. There’s an exciting energy here, and so much opportunity – everything just made sense and is working itself out for me here.
During my many visits to the UAE, I noticed that the market was vastly underserved in terms of both resale and rental fashion and so, this sparked the idea for the launch of Endless here.
The story of Endless is…
RG: Endless was really born out of my own wardrobe problems, and I’m sure many of you have been through the same struggles..
I wanted to wear good quality and designer brands but that just wasn’t affordable. I was in my 20s and living in London with little money at the time, and was buying outfits for social events that I would only wear once or twice. Fashion rental was only available for prom dresses and not for more regular events such as weddings, birthdays, holidays, dates… Fast-fashion was the only affordable option. Which often meant poor quality clothing and contributing to the negative impact it has on our planet. While circular shopping (thrift shops and resale platforms) felt like a considerably lesser experience than shopping at my favourite online retailers and brands….
So that’s why I wanted to create a platform which makes shopping circular just like shopping new. A non-thrifty experience whilst still finding fashion treasures that are affordable. My goal is for people to make shopping circular their first choice.
I was inspired to enter into the fashion space because…
RG: I have always loved that fashion has the power to transform not just the way we look, but also the way we feel. It truly can help us feel more confident and express our authentic self. I have always been inspired by clothing and style, I’m not sure where it came from exactly, more of an inner intuitive thing which led me to want to work in this space.
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My daily routine consists of…
RG: There’s always so much going on and I work on all aspects of the business, so I don’t really have a set routine. Every day is very different, and that’s what I love about running a start-up, there’s so much variety. I’m usually jumping from one thing to another – it’s exciting! Generally I work very hard during the week, and then try to take the weekend off to switch off, relax or do something fun.
My role as Founder & CEO entails…
RG: Literally everything and anything related to the business. There is a never ending list of very unexciting jobs… to the more exciting ones. My time is spent doing things like big picture vision planning, the creative side – as well as operations, financials, growing the business, strategy, marketing, improving the tech, building the team, relationships with partners, shareholders etc. The list is truly endless.
The biggest hurdle I have experienced in my career…
RG: Creating and setting up the business as a totally new concept in the UK was hard. It was tough convincing brands to work with us 5 years ago when fashion rental wasn’t a known concept. Raising capital as a first-time female founder in the fashion rental space (as many investors had seen it fail before) was the hardest, but that also fuelled my determination.
Managing my personal life and mental health throughout it all was challenging too. When I was starting and running Endless Wardrobe in the UK, my life wasn’t stable at all. I was making my dreams happen, but it was one of the most difficult times for me and I wasn’t very happy – I was burnt-out. I have had to re-evaluate a lot of things since then.
The biggest milestone I have achieved is…
RG: All of the above..!
A quote I live by is…
RG: I’m very much a quote fan, here are a few I like:
You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.
Hard work always pays off…and you create your own luck!
What I hope for 2023 is…
RG: Right now, peace and humanity of course.
