AirRobe circularity technology launches US headquarters

Long standing in the world of sustainable fashion is the circularity concept. Simply put, the longer a garment has a shelf life either through resale, rental, or recycling, even if that means passing it along to a friend so they might enjoy it, it is the aim to keep it out of landfill. Also at the core is traceability, which tracks fiber origins.

Recent technological advances have made cataloging a garment’s life as easy as opening an app. Enter AirRobe, the world’s first digital wardrobe platform connecting brands and customers to the global circular economy. Founded by CEO Hannon Comazzetto, AirRobe—a clever take on wardrobe—pioneered the Circular Wardrobe Technology in her native Australia in 2020.

Serving over 100 global brands and retailers, Comazzetto and her team are now relocating their headquarters to New York to introduce the point-of-sale tool to the U.S. market. At a luncheon in Manhattan in partnership with Fashionkind—the curated luxury retailer founded by actress Sophia Bush and entrepreneur Nina Farran and AirRobe’s first American partner—FashionNetwork.com spoke with Comazzetto, who has also enlisted former InStyle editor-in-chief Laura Brown as host at the event and as AirRobe’s fashion advisor.

Here’s how AirRobe works. For brands and retailers—for instance, on Fashionkind.com, a customer wishing to buy a Juan De Dios swimsuit—when placing that item in their cart, an AirRobe tab displaying its resale value appears. AirRobe’s integration on a brand’s website is seamless and a natural aspect of the checkout process.

AirRobe also works similarly to The RealReal in the sense that it sells (but also rents) pre-owned garments and promises brand protection, authentication, and merchandising control. Once selecting the AirRobe tab at checkout, all product details and imagery are cataloged and saved in the customer’s own Digital Wardrobe on AirRobe with a one-click approach. This makes the steps of a garment’s second and further lifecycles accessible by quickly posting it on the AirRobe pre-loved designer marketplace.

“Our solution integrates seamlessly with each brand’s customer experience, enabling clients to add items to their own AirRobe Digital Wardrobe when shopping, and creates Digital IDs of each product for our fashion partner. Customers can then easily resell, rent, donate, or recycle in seconds with AirRobe, delivering brand protection, authentication, and merchandising control,” she continued.

Choosing New York was instinctual for Comazzetto. “New York is such a dynamic place for fashion and technology; it’s thrilling to immerse ourselves in that energy and build closer relationships with our partners. We aim to seamlessly integrate AirRobe into the global shopping experience, giving customers an effortless way to resell, refresh, or repurpose their wardrobes. Focused on partnering with brands that truly value timeless designs, we also see consumer education as paramount. Demonstrating how easily shoppers can extend their garment’s life—and recoup their investment—we hope sparks a broader cultural shift toward more mindful fashion,” Comazzetto said in a follow-up interview.

Being in New York also means working closely with Brown, who can help with industry outreach and is an ardent believer. “The growing wave of conscious consumers is forcing fashion brands to do things differently. For too long, fashion has been based on the thrill of the ‘new,’ but that’s become very old-fashioned. AirRobe elegantly builds resale into a brand’s client experience and educates customers as they shop on the resale value of each garment. They call it the ‘Circular Wardrobe,’ I call it the future,” said Brown.

The fellow Aussie fashion insider with deep roots in the industry and a passion for circularity will prove invaluable for Comazzetto’s team.

Besides Fashionkind, the brand has already added One Of, a New York-based sustainable collection made using deadstock fabrics from Patricia Voto, an alum of Gabriela Hearst and Altuzarra, among others.

“We partner with many leaders in thoughtful production and mindful consumption that range from small labels with on-demand or made-to-order collections to heritage brands looking to evolve toward more sustainable practices. Some emphasize ethical sourcing or artisan craftsmanship, while others focus on capsule collections and minimal waste,” Comazzetto added.

In addition to adding team members in New York, AirRobe has team members in San Francisco, Paris, and Sydney.

“AirRobe’s product vision was fostered through hundreds of conversations with designers and other stakeholders in the fashion industry globally. We intentionally built out our technology to scale worldwide from the beginning and now support over one hundred global luxury and designer brands, with primary markets across Europe, America, and Asia-Pacific,” she added.

In the past five years since launching, AirRobe has partnered with brands and retailers such as Incu, a retail concept store that stocks JW Anderson, Acne, Toteme, Bottega Veneta, Dries Van Noten, Miu Miu; Mode Sportif, a specialty retailer that stocks Cult Gaia, Prada, Saint Laurent, Farm Rio, Nagnata, Ganni, Anna Quan; Oroton, Australia’s oldest heritage brand known globally for handbags; the brand Romance Was Born, former Fashion Laureate winner known for their eclectic and playful sensibility; and P.E. Nation, the fastest growing luxe streetwear brand globally, among others.

AirRobe’s technology can complement other services to extend a garment’s lifecycle. “It’s an exciting time for retail innovation, and AirRobe plays a key role by focusing on the afterlife of fashion. We actively partner with many solutions in the industry to facilitate seamless post-sale experiences for customers, such as tailoring, styling, recycling, repair, re-engagement, and product returns solutions. We also partner with upstream technology providers to help better understand a product’s provenance and material composition.”

These include Shopify, BigCommerce, Magento, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, Klaviyo, and Stripe as well as circularity mission-focused organizations such as the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and Seamless Australia. 

Any foreign business coming to the U.S. might have to consider the impact of Trump’s tariffs. According to the CEO, as the platform integrates its technology within a brand’s e-commerce flow, it remains mainly outside such constraints.

There is another silver lining to the technology.

“We have observed that when luxury and designer brands integrate AirRobe, shoppers feel more confident purchasing quality pieces, knowing their value and knowing they have an effortless avenue for resale later,” she said, adding, “When brands integrate with AirRobe’s solution they unlock powerful results. Recent data from AirRobe’s brand partners shows a 13% average basket size increase (based on A/B testing) and a 1.9X improvement in customer lifetime value. These findings highlight a key insight: customers who see a clear path to resell their items in the future tend to opt for higher-value products and grow brand loyalty with brands committed to circularity.”