LSwop launches luxury sneaker rental service

LSwop, which stands for Luxury Swop, wants to bring the Rent the Runway experience to men. “European designer sneakers are to men what designer handbags are to women,” said Jonathan Escoffery, who founded the business with Jinette Cordero. “I saw Rent the Runway’s success and realized there wasn’t a concept like this for men.”

According to Escoffery, who used to work in creative development for brands and stores, he’s focusing solely on European luxury sneakers from designers including Tom Ford, Christian Louboutin, Pierre Hardy and Rick Owens. These are typically priced at $800 to $1,000 at retail.

“We see where everything is going with the sneaker reselling business and I feel like that market is so oversaturated. There are so many sites and blogs dedicated to Jordan and Nike,” Escoffery told WWD.

LSwop operates on a monthly subscription model and sneakers can be rented for one to four days. For $150 customers can rent one sneaker each month, for $250 customers can rent two sneakers each month and for $350 customers can rent three sneakers each month. Subscribers receive the sneaker, which features a 3M sole protector, in their own custom wood shoe box that also includes a free pair of socks. Escoffery said no sneaker will be sent out more than two times. After the sneakers have reached their rental life span, members will have the opportunity to purchase the lightly used sneakers at a discounted price.

Escoffery also plans on offering other incentives to his subscribers including surprise pop-up events and sample sales. To celebrate the launch of the service LSwop will run a pop-up that’s open until Wednesday at 8 Greene Street in SoHo. It’s stocked with men’s wear from brands including Vetements, Balmain, Givenchy and Rick Owens.