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<p>Founders Gabriella Carota and Janelle Gray-Gilbert talk archival fashion, their most memorable finds, and why you don't have to own a piece to fall in love with it.</p>
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<p dir="ltr">“<em>Thanks, it’s vintage</em>” is a wonderful compliment for the wearer and a slightly frustrating answer for anyone hoping to get their hands on the same piece. The desire grows, the search begins, and the chances of finding the exact same treasure are slim. But Isle of Monday is offering a more promising alternative: you can borrow it.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Founded by Gabriella Carota and Janelle Gray-Gilbert, the vintage rental platform brings together rare designer finds, from nostalgic <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/roberto-cavalli-iconic-celebrity-looks-zendaya-aaliyah-bella-hadid-taylor-swift" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Roberto Cavalli</a> and <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion-week/vivienne-westwood-spring-summer-2027-pfw-runway-images-review" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vivienne Westwood</a>&nbsp;to <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/john-galliano-zara-reform-collection-collaboration-where-to-shop-photos-lookbook-prices" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Galliano</a>-era Dior and <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/gwyneth-paltrow-red-gucci-tom-ford-suit-mtv-awards-1996" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gucci by Tom Ford</a>, alongside lesser-known labels worth discovering. Some of their more unique offerings have rarely been seen outside private collections, once worn by figures such as <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/naomi-campbell-union-jack-dress-givenchy-mcqueen" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Naomi Campbell</a> and Helena Christensen.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">Their own friendship has a fitting origin story. The two met at Carota’s vintage pop-up in New York's Canal Street Market, where Gray-Gilbert had her eye on a leather jacket from Carota's curation. Although she didn't end up buying it, she eventually borrowed—and the rest is history. Today, that same spirit of sharing runs through the business, whether a customer is looking for a wedding welcome party dress or a skirt worth making dinner plans around.</p>

Gabriella Carota and Janelle Gray-Gilbert. Shot by Jae Eun Seok, courtesy of Isle of Monday.

<p dir="ltr">The archive already has a star-studded clientele list, with pieces worn by <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop-culture/doechii-addresses-yelling-at-staffers-before-met-gala-video" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Doechii</a>, Keke Palmer, Alix Earle, Tate McRae, <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/daisy-edgar-jones-sense-and-sensibility-press-tour-looks-2026-dresses-outfits-red-carpet-premieres" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Daisy Edgar-Jones</a>, and Laura Harrier. But you don’t need a world tour or a red carpet to borrow from their enviable closet. A wedding invitation, dinner reservation, or simply falling for a dress is reason enough.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Whether browsing through its online platform or scheduling a visit to the dreamy New York showroom (highly recommended!), guests can explore authenticated inventory, review detailed sizing information, and choose rental windows of 4, 8, 12, or 24 days to suit their needs. Each garment is also professionally cleaned between rentals by specialists trained in couture and vintage care, who inspect every item after each wear to ensure it arrives in pristine condition for its next outing.</p>
<p data-pm-slice="1 1 []">And while most rental platforms place their emphasis on sustainability and circular models, Isle of Monday is equally focused on accessibility. In a relationship-driven industry where who you are or who you know can make all the difference, Carota and Gray-Gilbert do the heavy lifting. Drawing on their extensive network of curators and collectors, the duo makes unique, hard-to-find treasures accessible to a wider audience, without requiring a <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/law-roach-celebrity-stylist-age-name-clients-zendaya-kim-kardashian-celine-dion-tom-holland-lewis-hamilton" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Law Roach</a>-level contact book.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Below, <em>L’OFFICIEL</em> speaks with the founders about the thrill of the find, the pieces on their wish list, and opening up the archive.</p>

<p dir="ltr">L’OFFICIEL: <em>Tell us about the Isle of Monday’s origin story.&nbsp;</em></p>
<p dir="ltr">GABRIELLA CAROTA: Originally, Isle of Monday was a resale hobby I had on the side. I’ve been collecting vintage for over 10 years and started reselling around 2016. I launched Isle of Monday as a hobby in 2021, and the following year I met Janelle at a pop-up at Canal Street Market.</p>
<p dir="ltr">She was reselling vintage furniture and suggested we collaborate: her furniture, my clothes, this immersive world. We realized we worked so much better together and started thinking about what we could create within the vintage space. Accessibility kept coming up. Maybe rental was the way for these pieces to circulate among everyone who wanted to wear them.</p>
<p dir="ltr">JANELLE GRAY-GILBERT: People were already asking Gabriella to borrow things. Or they’d ask, “Do you still have that Cavalli skirt?” and she’d already sold it. Vintage can be difficult to find and extremely expensive. There’s that moment when you love your friend’s dress, and she says, “Sorry, it’s vintage.” With rental, you can say, “You can wear it too.”</p>

<p dir="ltr">L’O:&nbsp;<em>Why do you think people are so drawn to archival fashion right now?</em></p>
<p dir="ltr">GC: Uniqueness and individuality are currency now. When we were growing up, everyone wanted the same Abercrombie T-shirt and Hollister jeans. Now people want to look different and express themselves through what they wear. Vintage naturally lends itself to that. We’re curating pieces from a bygone era, and that makes them compelling.</p>
<p dir="ltr">L’O: <em>Which designers are customers gravitating toward right now?</em></p>
<p dir="ltr">JGG: Cavalli. Girls just love their Cavalli. Galliano-era Dior and Chanel also do really well. But so do what we call our “unsigned” pieces. A dress might not have a known label attached to it, but it’s really cool. People love the rare vintage we have that isn’t necessarily designer.</p>
<p dir="ltr">L’O: <em>How do you find the pieces and what makes your selection feel distinct?</em></p>
<p dir="ltr">GC: We already knew a lot of resellers and vintage businesses, so bringing those relationships onto the platform happened organically. We also have connections with auction houses, wholesalers, and people with warehouses full of vintage clothing.</p>
<p dir="ltr">When I went to Europe, I wasn’t going to stores. I was visiting people’s showrooms and apartments and looking through their bins. It’s still very much an “if you know, you know” world.</p>
<p dir="ltr">JGG: There’s the business side: the longevity of a piece and whether it makes sense for rental. And then there’s the curation. You can’t necessarily teach taste. Gabriella has a talent for finding pieces people gravitate toward, and our partners have incredible eyes, too. It’s all these people finding really cool things that happen to have been made 20-plus years ago.</p>
<p dir="ltr">L’O: <em>What is the most memorable piece you’ve sourced?</em></p>
<p dir="ltr">JGG: While we were building the business, I found a Roberto Cavalli dress from the Spring/Summer 2003 runway. I was getting married and texted Gabriella, “Should I buy this for my welcome party?” She said, “Yeah, duh.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">We filmed ourselves opening it, and I posted the video on TikTok. It got something like one or two million views overnight. Everyone was asking to borrow it. We hadn’t announced the rental idea yet, and people were already asking for exactly what we were planning to offer.</p>
<p dir="ltr">GC: It was so validating. We had taken a break from reselling to build the platform, and that moment really pushed us forward.</p>
<p dir="ltr">L’O:<em> Are people mostly renting for a specific occasion, or are they falling for a piece and finding somewhere to wear it to?</em></p>
<p dir="ltr">GC: People aren’t necessarily coming for an occasion; they’re coming for the piece. They’ll rent a skirt or a little Burberry set and wear it around. They’re searching for a particular piece or designer.</p>
<p dir="ltr">JGG: We get people who see something and say, “I’ll figure out a place to wear this. It’s cool. I have to.” It might be dinner with friends or just shooting content. People get excited. It’s a nice girl's world here.</p>

<p dir="ltr">L’O: <em>What does borrowing offer that owning doesn’t?</em></p>
<p dir="ltr">JGG: With vintage, ownership isn’t always an option to begin with. If you can find a piece, it might cost thousands of dollars. Rental lets you experiment and wear something you might otherwise never have access to.</p>
<p dir="ltr">GC: Even if you can afford it, some of these things aren’t on the secondhand market. They’re in private collections, or they’re samples that have never seen the light of day. You have to know people to access them. We’re opening that world to more people.</p>
<p dir="ltr">L’O: <em>What’s still on your sourcing wish list?</em></p>
<p dir="ltr">JGG: The Blumarine dress from <em>Uptown Girls</em>. Everyone requests it. We’ve seen it on the market, but it goes quickly.</p>
<p dir="ltr">GC: I’m obsessed with Ralph Lauren Spring/Summer 2003, and Valentino from around 2002 to 2004. I love the 2000s.</p>
<p dir="ltr">L’O: <em>How often are you tempted to keep something for yourselves?</em></p>
<p dir="ltr">JGG: Gabriella brings new things every day, so I’m always thinking, “Something else is going to come next.” With a lot of these pieces, you don’t need to own them.</p>
<p dir="ltr">GC: We can rent them, too.</p>
<p dir="ltr">JGG: Exactly.</p>

Isle of Monday Wants to Lend You Your Dream Vintage Wardrobe

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