Sublime

For Chapman, a human approach to decentralization means honoring people’s specialties – not creating a flat structure where everyone’s work and ideas are weighted equally, but delegating appropriately based on skillsets.

At its height in 2018, Joymode catered to as many as 10,000 monthly customers. Subscribers paid between $22 and $29 a month, while à la carte customers paid a fee equal to 10 percent of an item's retail price. Each week, Joymode processed more than 30,000 rental products through its warehouse, and during the summers--its busiest season--took in as ... See more

Reason #2 is that media, like many other industries, is undergoing an unbundling: “the decline of the firm as a principle agent of change” as Nadia Eghbal puts it. In other words, more power to the players, who can now produce independent revenue streams via social media and live streaming services like Twitch. Players also have a stronger role in ... See more

There’s a lot going on here at once: The materials, their recyclability, the impact that has on design, aesthetics, and performance, the “circular” concept, the pricing, the idea of renting shoes vs. owning them, the direct consumer relationship vs. buying from a local store, and of course, the subscription business model.

For advocates of decentralization, the movement has the potential to break up monopolies and hand control back to the users. Its impact is already being felt in industries from finance to social media and even Internet access—but what about fashion?