German influencer Stefanie Giesinger and British internet celebrity Marcus Butler have made names for themselves as models, Instagrammers and Youtubers—now they hope to become synonymous with something completely different: Sustainable fashion. In this episode of the OMR Podcast, the super couple sat down with OMR founder Philipp Westermeyer to discuss their new fashion label “nu-in,” how they hope to position the new brand, why they decided to focus on sustainable fashion and how they intend to leverage their community to get “nu-in” up and running.
“We love fashion and want it to be fashionable and trend-oriented, but we also care for our planet and our environment,” Stefanie Giesinger tells Philipp Westermeyer in the OMR Podcast. “The fashion industry is shifting at the moment, because it cannot ignore the fact that it is second-largest polluter in the world. So we are focussing on making trend-oriented clothing that is sustainable and accessible,” the pair says.
Looking good and doing good for the environment
The pair have spent considerable time in front of the camera for well-known brands, including L’Oréal and Nike. Now the couple has a new venture: “nu-in,” their sustainable fashion label. About a year ago, they brought two additional partners on board whose support and expertise was essential to getting the brand off the ground. “We built a team that has so much experience and expertise in the areas where we’ve never had any experience,” says Marcus Butler. Today, there is a team of 21 behind “nu-in,” including Stefanie, Marcus and their two other co-founders. The stated mission: to be the first address for people looking for stylish fashion without wanting to negatively impact the environment.
Short-term they are planning on pushing the fledgeling label via a combination of leveraging their very strong social media accounts and working with select eCommerce platforms, influencers and offline retailers. Long-term they intend to open up a brick-and-mortar store one day, where they not only present products, but also educate on materials and sustainability in fashion. “We want to set a good example and hopefully inspire others to follow our lead,” the couple says.
For influencers who collaborate with “nu-in,” there is an additional highlight: designing their own collection—something the young founders call “the quickest, biggest and most authentic way of increasing brand awareness and achieving growth.” They are mum at the moment on which international influencers they hope to work with, but we’ll know soon enough.
The right place at the right time
While Stefanie and Marcus could not have taken more different paths to get to where they are now, they both underscore the role luck had it getting them to the right place at the right time. When Stefanie was just 16, she was crowned Germany’s Next Top Model in 2014. She began immediately posting to Instagram daily, where she enjoys “sharing solely authentic glimpses into her life.” Marcus is a famous Youtube personality in the UK and has been involved in a host of projects, publishing an autobiography, hosting a podcast, radio shows and also has a hit single under his belt. The self-described first-generation YouTuber says he was fortunate enough to start uploading content to Youtube “before influencing was a thing and became part of a generation that pioneered content on YouTube.” His Instagram is channel now boasts 3 million followers.
Check out the OMR Podcast with Philipp Westermeyer to hear more from Stefanie Giesinger and Marcus Butler, what inspires them, why corona didn’t keep them from launching their fashion label and what role Instagram played in bringing the couple together.
The OMR Podcast with Philipp Westermeyer featuring Stefanie Giesinger and Marcus Butler at a glance:
- How and where Stefanie and Marcus are living at the moment
- How Marcus‘ career on YouTube began
- How the pair met and what role Instagram had in it
- How Marcus‘ content has changed over the years
- Marcus‘ journey from software salesman to full-time YouTuber
- On Stefanie’s start on Instagram and its impact on her career
- On Marcus‘ start on YouTube, the so-called “snowball effect” and the career boost through cooperation
- Why Stefanie doesn’t care about the number of followers when it comes to personal relationships
- How the pair augement each other’s career, e.g. when it comes to reach on Instagram
- On the first collabs and the path to “nu-in”
- The idea behind Stefanie’s own skin-care collection “МОЙ”
- On the genesis of their joint fashion label “nu-in” and why partnerships are relevant
- How the label is currently set up
- The idea behind “nu-in” and trend-oriented, sustainable clothing
- On consumer societies, fast vs. slow fashion labels and Stefanie’s function as a role model
- On the extent of which the role of eCommerce platforms will be in the future
- On their business plan and the decision to launch “nu-in” despite the pandemic
- On the average cost of items and how much revenue they could generate
- How the relevance of offline business for “nu-in”
- On how the fashion market has changed over the years
- On why their career paths would be very improbable in 2020 and the impact of Tiktok
- On the role of influencers and why niche content is successful
- Where their focus currently lies and where they see themselves in the future
- On Instagram as the “office” and the constant “fear” of missing out
- Who has access to their private and public instagram channels
- What Marcus still hopes to achieve with his YouTube channel
- Which products “nu-in” currently has in the pipeline and what is planned for the coming months
- What’s important when posting and the impact of Coachella for influencers
- What the pair have planned with “nu-in” and why it’s an exciting opportunity for influencers
