As we celebrate International Women's Day, we are honoured to kick off our series of interviews with inspiring women who have not only conquered the challenges of entrepreneurship but have also redefined the narrative in their respective fields.
Today, we sit down with Marre, the visionary founder of Essen The Label, a brand born in 2016 out of a commitment to revolutionise the fashion landscape. Marre's philosophy revolves around encouraging mindful consumption, redefining essentials, and crafting timeless pieces that transcend fleeting trends.
Get ready for an insightful conversation that goes beyond fashion, diving into the principles of conscious entrepreneurship and the indomitable spirit of female founders. Welcome to a celebration of empowerment, elegance, and the remarkable journey of Marre and Essen The Label.
Marre's International Women's Day Collection
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Before starting ESSEN, I had tried a number of different jobs in the fashion and creative industries. The longer I worked in the industry, the more I understood how it was missing the mark and needed to redirect itself to be more responsible and less compromising in its products and processes.
Despite working in footwear at the time, I could not find good quality, timeless shoes that were comfortable and ethically made - this was my motivation to launch ESSEN.
ESSEN is centered around versatile dressing so you can maximise your wardrobe and minimise your impact on the environment. We offer a permanent collection of no-compromise staples: timeless classics that are reimagined in new ways that feel chic without any effort.
“There’s just so much product out there in the world. I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel…I just want to make pieces that celebrate artisanal craftsmanship, are comfortable and that you’ll still love in five years.”
I was creatively exhausted and increasingly frustrated by the relentless seasonal calendar and endless pursuit of newness in the fashion industry, so early on in my trajectory I decided that I wouldn’t let ESSĒN be held to this vicious cycle.
Good design should answer a problem in your wardrobe. I’ve always gravitated towards simplicity and longevity in my own wardrobe.
When starting ESSEN I focused on creating very small production runs of each design. A style would only be developed as I saw the need, starting with black. If it was popular, I would go back and create larger runs, or experiment with other colours. It’s a way for ESSĒN to eliminate excess stock, and avoid contributing to the problem of overproduction in the fashion industry as a whole.
Even now, ESSĒN doesn’t produce according to seasons, and only releases new styles when they’re perfect. Or when there is a gap that needs filling. “I always come at my design from a practical point of view. ‘What do I need in my wardrobe?’”
“Because I don’t have to constantly produce newness, I can really focus on getting the details right.”
For us sustainability is a mindset, once you’ve started questioning things and opened your eyes, it will naturally infiltrate everything you do. ESSEN is built on a foundation of conscious design, considered consumption and ethical manufacturing. Every decision we make is underlined by these guiding principles.
When designing, we aim to craft shoes made to last a lifetime. We use durable, eco-friendly materials like chrome-free leather, aniline leather, recycled rubber and metals that minimize environmental impact and protect workers. Once finalized, we only produce shoes in small batches or on-demand to prevent overproduction and cut waste by up to 90%. When you order from ESSEN, expert artisans handcraft shoes just for you in ethical, solar-powered factories using generations-old techniques.
Even our logistics have been carefully considered – we’re based in Australia but our fulfilment centre is in Europe, close to where the factories are. This allows us to produce in small batches and keep minimum stock levels but respond quickly when a certain style or size sells, all whilst keeping carbon footprint as low as possible.
In order to illustrate the sustainability impact of our products to customers prior to purchase we have partnered with the independent platform Renoon. Using blockchain technology and on-demand analysis, Renoon gathers and verifies information to show the complete product journey and determine each product’s compliance state. This information is then displayed across multiple points with the Digital Product Passport and QR code, scannable from your shoebox.
And I always remind myself and my team that it’s progress, not perfection we’re pursuing. We are committed to making more responsible choices wherever possible so it's easier for customers to make them too.
One of our proudest achievements in 2023 was launching our partnership with Renoon to provide digital product passports, bringing full supply chain traceability to our customers. Providing transparency has always been a goal at ESSEN, as we believe luxury is defined by truly knowing a product's origins.
The platform has also enabled us to address any areas where further improvement could be made. My key focus going forward will be on material innovation and working towards more circular designs.
Many! Striving for sustainability and making responsible choices in a traditional and male dominated industry is an ongoing challenge, but it’s so important to drive change.
Generally, factories are mostly still run by men - it took a long time to find partners that took me seriously and understood how my proposed business model could actually help them balance production cycles, manage cash flow better and ultimately achieve more growth long term as we’re only investing in styles and colours that sell-through. For every amazing partner I work with now, at least ten said no!
You have to solve something meaningful. Starting a company is hard – it’s never static and a constant grind, so you really have to enjoy what you’re doing and work on something that means a lot to you.
We can’t control everything that comes at us, but we can control our reaction to it, which is very important in the turbulent world of startups!
I don’t know if there’s a silver bullet for good advice. It’s important to be curious, flexible and resilient. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want and always act with integrity. People want to do business with good people.