About Us: The Swap, life.

The Swap was born from the shared experiences of Garmai Matthew and Arrison Kinkaid, childhood friends from Cleveland, OH. In 2022, after spending countless hours on photoshoots in New York City, they realized just how much they were investing in renting pieces from high-end showrooms. Every photoshoot required them to spend hundreds of dollars on unique fashion items, and yet they still struggled to find exclusive streetwear pieces that matched their creative vision. This experience sparked the idea: what if there were a platform dedicated exclusively to streetwear rentals, making it more accessible to creatives, fashion lovers, and trendsetters like themselves?

Arrison and Garmai, both deeply involved in the fashion world, saw the gap in the market for streetwear rentals and wanted to create a solution that could help others access iconic and vintage streetwear pieces without the hefty showroom price tags. They envisioned a business that would bring together streetwear from diverse designers, including Black and Brown-owned brands, giving them the platform they deserved while also promoting sustainability.

As Garmai pursued her MBA, she met Kangana Das, a fellow MBA student who shared her passion for sustainability and innovative business ideas. With Kangana's background in business strategy and Garmai and Arrison’s creative vision, they joined forces to take The Swap to the next level. Their goal was to build not just a fashion platform but a community where people could swap, rent, and celebrate streetwear culture while contributing to a more sustainable fashion industry.

With the platform now up and running and their business registered as an LLC, The Swap has grown into a premier streetwear rental service. It allows users to access unique, high-end streetwear through a subscription model, providing creatives, photographers, and fashion lovers an affordable way to elevate their style. Through this business, Garmai, Arrison, and Kangana are redefining how people engage with streetwear fashion, promoting accessibility, sustainability, and diversity in an industry that often overlooks both.