In a decisive move that signals the end of the "fragmented pilot" era of circular fashion, Cocoon Group has acquired the fractional ownership platform More Luxury Club (MLC). Coming just months after Cocoon’s merger with rental-and-resale powerhouse My Wardrobe HQ, this deal cements Cocoon’s aggressive strategy to build the industry’s first true "super-ecosystem" for non-traditional luxury consumption. By integrating subscription, peer-to-peer rental, resale, and now co-ownership under one roof, Cocoon is effectively betting that the future of the luxury closet isn't about choosing one model—it's about having access to all of them.
The “Third Way”: Why Co-Ownership Matters Now
For years, the circular market has been bifurcated: you either rented a bag for the weekend (the Cinderella moment) or you bought it second-hand (the investment). More Luxury Club, founded by Cynthia Morrow, introduced a "third way" that largely flew under the radar of the mass market but captivated high-net-worth pragmatists: fractional ownership.
The model is deceptively simple: members purchase a 25% share of a high-value asset—say, a Hermès Kelly or a Bottega Veneta Andiamo—guaranteeing them 12 weeks of exclusive usage per year. It solves the "renter’s remorse" (spending money with no equity) and the "buyer’s guilt" (spending thousands on an item that sits idle for months).
By absorbing MLC, Cocoon Group addresses a critical psychological gap in the circular economy. "Cocoon shares our belief that the future of luxury lies in sustainability, circularity, and community," says Morrow. But strategically, this is about share of wallet. Cocoon can now capture the customer who wants to rent a fun seasonal clutch and the customer who wants to 'invest' in a classic tote, without letting them leave the ecosystem.
Consolidation as a Survival Strategy
The timing of this deal is widely revealing. The "rental recession" of 2023–2024 saw numerous standalone platforms struggle with the brutal unit economics of logistics, dry cleaning, and customer acquisition. The response from the survivors has been to scale up or sell out.
Cocoon Group, led by CEO Coco Baraer Panazza, has chosen the former. Following the integration of My Wardrobe HQ (which brought significant inventory depth and resale capabilities), the addition of MLC allows for a sophisticated asset-management strategy. A bag might start its life in the "Co-ownership" tier (high value, low rotation), move to the "Subscription" tier (Cocoon’s core business) as it ages, and eventually be liquidated via the "Resale" channel.
This "cascade model" maximizes the lifetime value (LTV) of every single SKU in a way that single-model businesses simply cannot match. "This roll-up strategy positions Cocoon as the definitive category leader," Panazza notes, emphasizing the need for a "comprehensive" solution rather than a niche service.
The Kering Factor: A Strategic Divergence
To understand the stakes, one must look at the capital table. In 2021, Kering (parent of Gucci and Balenciaga) made headlines by investing in Cocoon—a signal that big luxury was ready to embrace rental. However, deep industry intelligence confirms that Kering quietly withdrew its stake in mid-2025.
Far from a death knell, this exit likely accelerated Cocoon’s independence. The luxury conglomerates are increasingly taking circularity in-house (e.g., Valentino Vintage or Rolex Certified Pre-Owned), leaving independent platforms to fend for themselves. Cocoon’s response has been to become too big and too useful to ignore, creating a data fortress of rental behaviors that brands will eventually need to access, whether they own equity or not.
Strategic Timeline: The Path to the Super-Platform
- 2019: Cocoon launches in London as a subscription-only membership for luxury bags, challenging the "one-off rental" model.
- 2021: Kering Ventures invests, validating the model and granting access to "direct-from-brand" inventory.
- 2023–2024: The "Rental Correction." Competitors fold; Cocoon focuses on retention and high-yield customers.
- July 2025: Kering exits; Cocoon pivots to an aggressive M&A strategy to secure market dominance independently.
- Late 2025: Merges with My Wardrobe HQ (Resale/P2P) and acquires More Luxury Club (Co-ownership), forming Cocoon Group.
Forecast: The Era of the "Asset-Light" Closet
The implications of this deal extend beyond corporate structure. We are witnessing the maturation of the "Cloud Closet." For the consumer, the friction of managing three different apps for renting, buying, and sharing is vanishing. In 2026, expect Cocoon Group to launch a unified "digital wallet" for fashion assets, where a user can view their "owned" shares alongside their "rented" rotation.
Predicted KPIs for the Partnership:
Utilization Rate: The "Holy Grail" metric. Co-ownership ensures a bag is used ~90% of the year (shared by 4 people), compared to the erratic utilization of pure rental.
Churn Reduction: Users with equity (a share in a bag) are significantly less likely to cancel their subscription than pure renters.
Inventory Liquidity: The ability to move stock instantly from "rent" to "sell" based on real-time demand data.
As the circular economy moves from a sustainability marketing prop to a hard-nosed business imperative, Cocoon Group’s consolidation proves that in the game of luxury access, scale is the only luxury that matters.
Written by Ara Ohanian for FAZ Fashion — fashion intelligence for the modern reader.
