Wild West Social House co-founders Max Feldmann and Kyle Julian Skye want to change the way people build wardrobes. That is to say, they don’t want people to build them at all — at least not in their own closets.
In August 2023, they launched Wild West, a luxury fashion proposition that is part members’ club, part clothing rental. Based originally in a temporary bricks-and-mortar location in Los Angeles, in September 2024 Wild West took over the old Hollywood Foreign Press Association building for its first permanent flagship. The clubhouse carries about 4,500 luxury garments, shoes and accessories (the goal is to hit 10,000 by next summer), and there are fitting rooms, tailoring services and a parlour for members with food and drink. It also has a gallery space.
Wild West closed its first investment round of $500,000 in August 2024, led by Bungalow Capital, with further investment from 14W and Torr Capital. (The latter is a new fund; Wild West is its first investment.) By next summer, Feldmann and Skye plan to have opened a distribution centre in New York to speed up shipping, as well as laid the groundwork for a flagship-slash-club. In the meantime, Wild West is launching e-commerce to cater to customers around the US. Will it be able to translate its clubhouse charm online?
Rental has proven a difficult model to get right, as incumbents have struggled with backend and reverse logistics (restocking, cleaning, delivery), finessing the pricing model and convincing consumers that it’s a desirable way to consume clothes. With a tiered membership-based model, propped up by stylists who pay top dollar (and focus on high luxury), Wild West is convinced it can crack the rental model. “We’re trying to make it aspirational,” Skye says.
Wild West began over a double Jack Daniel’s at a Barney’s Beanery. Skye, who ran his own showroom, laid out a business proposition to Feldmann, a former Fred Segal buyer: a white-glove, luxury rental service with all the comforts of an LA members’ club. They got the fashion crowd — many of whom weren’t interested in rental — on board by tapping their own network. “Kyle and I have a very large Rolodex of friends and peers who we’ve worked with in the industry,” Feldmann explains. From there, the founders invited early members to refer their friends and colleagues. The contacts got them in the door, but the clothes kept them coming back.
Today, at any given time, there are 2,500 to 3,000 items on the club floor, around 600 to 700 out with members, and 250 minimum at the dry cleaners. The founders add 500 to 600 new SKUs per month, sourced from archive store vendors as well as individuals. About 75 per cent of pieces are archival, the rest current or recent seasons. Wild West has rented out more than 10,000 items already this year, with the key holiday period still to go.
