The Reality Of Starting A Responsible Brand

An interview with HADERLUMP.

HADERLUMP: https://www.instagram.com/haderlump.berlin/?hl=en

Esteban: Thank you for your time Julius

Julius: Of course, thank you for having me. I’m looking forward to it!

Esteban: Let’s start with a brief introduction. Can you tell us a bit about yourself and the brand?

Julius: Sure. My name is Julius, and together with my co-founder and good friend, Johann, we started HADERLUMP almost three years ago—it’ll be three this October. The whole idea came about after I read a book called Start Something That Matters. It’s a bit of a cheesy title, but it really hit me. At the time, I was studying nonprofit management, while Johan was focused on fashion design. I’d always wanted to start something meaningful, so I called Johan late at night and said, "Hey, let’s start a brand that makes a difference—let’s plant a tree for every product we sell." That was the initial concept: combining fashion with impact.

Pretty soon after, we found ourselves making custom outfits for artists, starting with german artist Zoe Wees, and things really took off from there. We moved into our atelier and began developing our ready-to-wear line, which eventually led to runway shows. So, yeah, it’s been a whirlwind of only two and a half years, but here we are!

Esteban: So, from reading a book to creating a purpose-driven brand, transitioning from custom orders to ready-to-wear and runway shows. Before we dive into the specifics of the brand’s development, I’m curious—why fashion for you? Coming from nonprofit management, what made you choose this industry?

Julius: That’s a good question. I don’t come from a fashion background at all—like I said, I studied economics and politics, and then nonprofit management for my master's. But the book Start Something That Matters was written by the founder of TOMS, and he talks about using fashion as a tool for impact. His argument was simple: everyone wears clothes, and fashion is something that touches people every day, whether they’re into it or not. So, if you can harness that daily interaction and combine it with a cause, you can create real change. The logic resonated with me immediately. Fashion became a vehicle for creating positive impact, and I thought, "Why not give it a shot?"

Esteban: So it was the potential for change through fashion that really drew you in.

Julius: Exactly. That’s my angle, though. Johan, of course, comes from a purely creative, design-driven perspective. I think that’s what makes HADERLUMP work—our contrast. Johan’s passion is all about fashion and design, while I bring a more rational, impact-focused approach. That tension, or balance, has helped us create something unique in a very short time.

Esteban: Many fashion brands either focus on creativity or solving problems, but HADERLUMP seems to blend both. How did that balance between creativity and purpose evolve in the early stages?

Julius: It was a process, for sure. In the beginning, my perspective—focused on impact—was more dominant. Our very first collaboration was with the Bergwald Project, where we planted a tree for every product sold. We also integrated NFC tags into our clothes to make them circular and involved consumers in the sustainability of our textiles. That was how we started—very problem-solving focused. But through my master's research on what drives consumers to purchase sustainable fashion, and our experience selling clothes, I realized that no matter how sustainable something is, people care about design first. Sustainability is a bonus. So, as time went on, Johan’s design vision started to take the forefront, and I learned to take a step back. The core of the brand is still sustainability, but we realized that to succeed, we had to focus on design and creativity.

Esteban: What was the turning point where you realized you needed to focus more on the design and less on the sustainability communication?

Julius: The turning point came when my marketing professor asked me a question that really stuck: "In 10 years, what do you want people to associate with your brand name?" If it was supposed to be about planting trees, we would have needed to go all-in on that and essentially become a tree-planting company. But we didn’t want HADERLUMP to be pigeonholed into that category.

So, we stopped planting trees at the end of last year after planting around 800. Now, we’re focusing on craftsmanship, design, and transparency in our processes. Sustainability is still at the core, but it's more about integrating it holistically rather than having one single focus like tree planting.

Esteban: So, it was a shift from being a “tree-planting brand” to a broader approach to sustainability—more holistic and design-led. That makes sense. What would you say has been the biggest challenge so far?

Julius: There have been so many challenges, but the biggest one has definitely been figuring out how to sell our clothes. We’re still a small brand, so every decision matters. We’ve experimented with different models, from custom pieces to ready-to-wear, and even runway shows. But for a while, our runway shows didn’t translate into sales on our online shop, which is the backbone of our business. We realized that how we present our products online wasn’t aligning with the brand image people were seeing on the runway.

After our most recent show, we launched a new online shop with a different look and feel. We built a concrete backdrop in our atelier to shoot the pieces, adding metal accessories and other details that reflect the raw, avant-garde style of our runway collections. The result? We’re finally seeing the impact of our shows translating into online sales.

Esteban: That’s a great insight—aligning the visual identity of the brand across all platforms, especially in e-commerce where customers can’t physically interact with the product. What would you say has been a key learning from this process?

Julius: The biggest takeaway is that details matter. We used to think having a great fashion photographer was enough, but it wasn’t. The photos didn’t convey the energy or the essence of what HADERLUMP is about. Now, we handle the photography ourselves because we know exactly how we want our products to be seen. It’s about creating consistency across all touchpoints, so what people feel at the shows is reflected in the online experience.

Esteban: Shifting gears a bit—if you could start over, what would you do differently?

Julius: That’s a tough one. We often ask ourselves this exact question. I think one major thing would be to have a clearer understanding of the pros and cons of wholesale versus direct-to-consumer (D2C) early on. In the beginning, we tried both—going to trade shows in Paris and focusing on our online shop. But we didn’t fully understand the implications of each model. Wholesale requires huge investment and higher prices, and it’s almost impossible for a young brand to break into luxury without significant backing. D2C has its own challenges, but it's a more flexible model, especially for a brand like ours that wants to control its growth.

Esteban: So, you would have committed to one strategy earlier, rather than trying to do both?

Julius: Exactly. Committing to D2C earlier would have saved us a lot of time and resources. We now focus on building our online presence and community, which gives us control. If we decide to pursue wholesale in the future, it’ll be on our own terms.

Esteban: Lastly, how has all of this been funded? Have you had outside investment, or is it all self-funded?

Julius: It’s been mostly self-funded. In the beginning, we received a few grants—first from the Berlin Scholarship, which gave us a small salary for nine months, and then a €50,000 grant from Berlin’s startup program. We’ve also won prize money from the Berlin Senate for our runway shows, which helped a lot in those early stages. But no investors—it’s been a grind to fund everything ourselves, but it’s kept us independent.

Esteban: One last question before we wrap up: What’s the most important piece of advice you’d give to aspiring fashion entrepreneurs?

Julius: Find a partner who complements your strengths. That’s number one. If you’re a creative, find a business-minded partner. If you’re business-focused, find someone creative. It’s the best way to balance the challenges of starting a brand.

Esteban: Couldn’t agree more. Julius, thank you so much for your time and insights. It’s been a fantastic conversation.

Julius: Thank you, Esteban. It was a pleasure.