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Vestido co-owner Maica Tady shares her insights on women, fashion sustainability and her dreams of expanding the business
“My friends and I have shared experiences where we would see fashion items used for events, shoots, or personal occasions only once. We thought that these pieces deserve more than one wear,” says Maica Tady when asked about the humble beginnings of Vestido. “We thought our rental service would offer a solution to give girls access to more options that wouldn’t break the bank while also unloading their closets.”
What started as a small idea turned into something outstanding, which helped many girls find a sustainable solution to getting dressed and becoming more mindful. Vestido has become more than finding a look or fixing a fashion emergency.
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“We’re thrilled to know that the Vestido experience plays a part in making [customers] feel their best,” says Tady. “Some magical moments we’ve shared in the studio have been watching women see themselves in a new light and build their confidence to try things they never imagined themselves in.”
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On Sustainability
Aside from helping ladies find their footing, Vestido is also a player in the circular economy. “We love sustainability that’s open to interpretation and practice.”
Defining sustainability as “creating [a] shared value”, Tady explains it is where they inspire people to dive into a dual sustainable benefit. “[It’s either] renting from or renting with us.”
Renting from Vestido entails borrowing pieces online or in-studio for four days. “We are a pre-loved consignment service for people who have dresses or gowns to spare. The concept of buying something new for every occasion or event wasn’t sustainable, in our opinion.”
They then end up accumulating all these items worn only once. “We believe special pieces [are for] more than one wearing; Vestido aims to extend that,” she adds.
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On Vend and Vestido’s next steps
Vend is Vestido’s equally successful little sister, as Tady describes. It is a shoppable closet of past-season collectables. “Keeping in mind our ethos and fashion circularity, this luxury resale serves to [allow] our ‘muses’ to keep the dresses they rented forever or find amazing fashion gems of yesteryears,” Tady explains.
With the closet’s success, in addition to their move to a new studio last October 2022, Vestido’s future looks brighter than ever. “We’ve also expanded our service from renting fashion and occasion wear to renting out our space for intimate events and photoshoots. Soon we will be opening our in-studio café too,” says Tady.
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Expanding their sales outside the online realm to a quarterly physical market where new consignors are welcome is their priority—nothing beats an in-store experience. They are keen on growing, with launching subscription services and a Vestido app next in their pipeline.
For Tady, the journey to get to this point was arduous, but it’s far from over. According to her, “Creation takes time, and much persistence is needed in building every dream. The joy is in the process, and the ups and downs have been worth it”.
“For us in Vestido, we want to inspire women to make more mindful choices, big or small. Whether or not it makes a huge or little impact on the environment, the intention set is more important because it’s a step in the right direction,” says Tady.
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Angela Nicole Regis Guiral is the assistant digital editor of Tatler Philippines. She studied journalism and has since written features that look closely at how culture, lifestyle and social impact converge, while occasionally wandering into the worlds of style and travel.
