hip and timeless designs that prioritise utility over gender. Inside Retail spoke with Jeremy Herman, founder and creative director of Haulier, to unpack his take on the Australian fashion industry and approach to building a distinguished brand. Inside Retail: What do you think Haulier’s recognition at the National Designer Awards symbolises for the future of Australian fashion? Jeremy Hershan: From my perspective, and from the brand’s perspective, it’s a really nice recognition of a brand that’s really focused on quality and craftsmanship. The brand is entirely dedicated to building goods that last from a timeless design perspective, as well as a lasting quality perspective – that’s our whole ethos of enduring goods. That’s what’s written on our products and above the doors of our flagship store in Sydney. We really set out to create a brand that is lasting fashion, we create products that are intended to be heirlooms, and that only get better with time and age. [The award] really reinforces that there is perhaps a return to quality or an appreciation for quality over quantity. We really are a slow fashion brand. I think that that’s a lovely reinforcement for what we’re trying to achieve and encourage people to buy less but buy better. IR: What prompted you to start a brand in 2020, a time when the fashion industry appeared unpredictable and potentially discretionary? JH: I’ve obviously worked in fashion for many years prior to that, for leading brands and design for global brands. I was leading the creative direction at RM Williams at that time, up to the sort of birth of Haulier. In the back of my mind, I had always wanted to create a great Australian lifestyle brand. I had begun working on a product, which was the Utility Tote Bag, probably two years before launching the brand. I really took my time to perfect the product, the sourcing and the materials and to make sure I was really happy with putting something out there in the market. By the time 2020 came around, the world had kind of stopped and Covid was in full swing, but here I was launching a travel product into a market that was in a state of shock.  I guess, I just persevered. I was really proud of the product and I thought it’s bound to resonate with people even if they’re not travelling because it’s such a utilitarian product. The Utility Tote, it’s in the name, but it can be used for any purpose whether it’s a trip to the shops to the beach, a weekend away, or whatever it is. I just thought the product was perfectly suited for that, stuck to my gut and went for it. IR: You’ve had a notable career in fashion before starting your own brand. What lessons have you applied from your previous roles including head of design and leading the creative direction at RM Williams? JH: I think it was all the roles I’ve had in Europe, the UK, and then Australia. I’ve worked for brands that make a very beautifully crafted luxury product, whether it’s tailoring on Savile Row or handmade boots in South Australia, craftsmanship has been a focus for me since day one. I really wanted to take all those lessons as well as the sourcing and skills that I’ve been exposed to in Europe and build a product through that luxury lens, but a product that was accessible and democratically priced and very broad in its appeal. That was really the impetus behind the brand.  IR: How would you describe Haulier and its customers to someone who has yet to be introduced to the brand? JH: We make timeless goods that are built to last. It’s a wardrobe of elevated everyday utility items, from bags to clothing. That’s what we focus on. IR: PMFF CEO Ralphmith noted Haulier’s “sophisticated approach to brand and business”. Could you talk me through your approach to branding and how it has evolved over time? JH: The brand aspect is something I’m super passionate about. Image-making is something that I’ve always loved, whether it was leading creative direction for RM Williams and working on all their campaigns or staging runway shows for brands in Europe. I’ve always been passionate about the brand-building aspect. And I think what Ralphsmith was referring to with Haulier [is that] I really wanted the brand to feel international from day one. That comes to life through our graphic design, our image-making, our campaigns and the runway stage we showed last May at Australian Fashion Week. [Branding] comes from my past and my training and really understanding how to build a story.  IR: Why is it important for Haulier to prioritise quality craftsmanship and timeless designs in its collections, two distinct traits that the content cycle around fashion seems to be placing less and less emphasis on? JH: That was really a reaction to mass fashion. In my mind, things were made in a much better and lasting way in the past. I think a lot of those skills and even the machinery, to some extent have been lost or overlooked in favour of fast fashion, so Haulier was intended as the antidote to that. We make goods using traditional manufacturing techniques and traditional craft in Europe in a really slow manner. Our signature product, the canvas for our Utility Tote Bag is woven on antique shuttle looms from the 1960s, which are incredibly slow. But the beauty is you have this end product that has this durability and quality to it that you can’t replicate with modern technology. So I’ve taken that lens to everything we do. I try to seek out old techniques and old machinery and old skills and old know-how to build lasting products. I believe that the better things are made, the longer they last and that’s our key approach to sustainability as well. IR: Could you tell me a little bit about Haulier’s approach to sustainability? And does your design approach to “timeless goods that endure” fit into this? JH: There’s obviously a focus on making goods that stand the test of time, through the fabrics and the manufacturing, they’re incredibly durable. There’s the lasting design aspect, which I think is often overlooked. We make products that are quite timeless in their aesthetic so they’re not really a passing fashion. Then we have a natural fibre focus. So we only use natural fibres throughout the collection. We don’t use any man-made fibres, so all our goods in essence are biodegradable in the long run. With our signature product as well, I’ve taken a lot of care with the thinking. With the utility totes of the old looms that I mentioned before, I’m actually able to set the dimensions to the precise width of the bag, so there’s no cutting waste, and there’s no negative space left when we cut the product. We really have no waste with that key product. IR: Where do you most draw inspiration from for your collections?  JH: In terms of inspiration, there are a few key reference points, travel being one of them. Particularly the golden age of travel, which I think was the dawn of commercial travel around the ‘60s and ‘70s. That’s a definite inspiration point. I also draw a lot of inspiration from the films, music and art of those periods. I have a vast archive, I suppose, of vintage garments, which I draw a lot of inspiration from. They’re all kind of utilitarian in origin via military sportswear or denim workwear. I use a lot of those influences together to arrive at the Haulier aesthetic. IR: Haulier has a flagship store in Sydney and is soon to be stocked on the floor of David Jones’ Bourke Street Store. What’s the next goal regarding Haulier’s brick-and-mortar presence? JH: We opened our flagship store in Sydney, as you mentioned, approximately a year and a half ago, and it’s been so wonderful and valuable to have that interaction with our customers directly. Working with David Jones is a huge honour and we’re excited to partner with this pop-up in Bourke Street. I think beyond that, I’m very keen to expand our retail presence in Australia, potentially with a further door in the next 12 to 18 months in Sydney or Melbourne.