Jeans and a nice top: Cult fashion brand’s expansion from TikTok to the high street

Entrepreneur and style influencer Nadia Bartel co-founded the Melbourne fashion label Henne in 2019 – turning women’s fashion essentials into aspirational garments – all thanks a cult following via social media channels that sees them flock to their flagship stores.

A digital beginning has turned into a retail store growth with plans to expand on the high street – proof that customers want tactile experiences when it comes to fashion.

Bartel, along with her sister Michelle Ring and friend Laura Broque have captured the day-to-night look, with a capsule collection that shifts from tailoring to denim, knitwear to occasion wear. But being online wasn’t enough for their fashion savvy audience – with a flagship opening on Greville Street, Prahran in 2022 to keep up with the demand.

Henne co-founders Michelle Ring, Nadia Bartel and Laura Broque. Picture: Supplied / Lillie Thompson

Last year Henne also unveiled its first retail store in Paddington, Sydney to much success.

There’s a second flagship pegged for Melbourne too – tipped to be larger than any retail footprint so far – that’s due to open later this year in the south-east.

And all eyes are on other capital cities – with Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth on the cards.

While social media has helped Henne become a hit among Millennials and Generation Z women, it’s the in-person tactile retail experience they were also craving.

“We noticed customers wanted to collect pieces on the day they ordered them online; and we’d suggest they come to our offices in Prahran to collect them,” Nadia Bartel told realcommercial.com.au.

“It was nice to meet them, and the demand quickly grew into a showroom that was open three days a week and pivoted to seven. Our first store in Prahran was a ground breaking moment because that’s where we noticed the business was growing and we got a deeper understanding of what the customers wanted to see from us in person,” said Ms Bartel.

@_henne HENNE Long Lunch to celebrate the launch of our first Boutique 🤎 #henneisforher #fyp #henne #bts #boutique ♬ Sands – Lethilda

The Greville Street boutique also comes with a styling suite next door – a perfect Instagram moment, a chance to bring friends who watch you play dress-ups as you select garments, and a chance to acquaint with product that doesn’t feel as pressured as a shopping centre fitting room.

According to Bartel, customers love booking an hour-long styling session when they shop at Henne – all which lead to greater transactions at the service desk. It’s a strategy that can only happen in a bricks and mortar setting.

The retail experience

It’s 10am on a Tuesday morning and Greville Street, Prahran is quiet – restaurants aren’t open yet, and the odd café is making coffees for those who traipse through the strip on their way to work. At Henne, it’s electric. There are 12 customers congregated (yep, I counted them) – everyone from 20-somethings in boyfriend style jeans, to mums and their daughters scoping the collections; looking over shoulders to assess what others are picking up to try and buy.

Shoppers are here for the curated fashion experience, where denim hangs effortlessly on wooden racks and paired with knitwear for comfy add-on purchases for temptation. There’s Scandinavian furniture you’re allowed to sit on – it’s like Maria Kondo came to visit and shared her hygge tips for creating ambient spaces.

Inside Henne’s Prahran store. Picture: Supplied / Lillie Thompson

Henne has hit the sweet spot between established brands who have been part of the Australian fashion landscape for decades – think Scanlan & Theodore and Camilla & Marc. But here, they’re pitching to fashion obsessed that begins their journey on socials and want to purchase multiple pieces each season, rather than save for one pricey garment.

The Henne world is a hashtag unto itself – from viral Tik Tok videos of outfit checks, to cult jeans that Bartel and her troop wear religiously, they’re loyal and here to stay. She posts videos of new pieces dropping in store – a formula that sees the Henne followers race to purchase before they sell out.

While other fashion retailers come with loud soundtracks and bright fluorescent lighting, Henne prides itself on soft architectural cues and gentle curves. There’s a tactile curiosity that makes the most of natural light in this heritage building – where timber accents keep us earthed. Lush floor coverings make walking bare foot feel dreamy, while design and fashion books are carefully placed to inspire shoppers.

The Henne team worked with renowned Melbourne interior designer Braham Perera on the Prahran flagship, he also fitted their Paddington store too. Where Melbourne captures a Scandi-inspired aesthetic [it helps that Henne translates into ‘her’ in Scandinavian], Sydney is showier with a bold red staircase that looks effortlessly cool here.

“What we create is a buildable wardrobe, pieces you can wear from day to night and purposefully don’t have stockists to keep price points reasonable,” explained Ms Bartel.

The personal-stylist touch

“We have a strong Henne community who come together and it’s more than just selling clothes,” she adds. When the denim atelier showroom opened on Greville Street this year, Henne started distributing pizza and tiramisu to mark the moment. Last Christmas they offered free baked goods and the chance to embroider their garments.

“We love to bring that personal touch and point of difference, that sense of family,” said Ms Bartel.

The change rooms in Henne’s Prahran store, where customers often spend up to an hour trying on clothes. Picture: Supplied / Lillie Thompson

The secret to their retail success comes down to having a full-time stylist on hand who engages with customers. On the day we arrive, stylist Sandra is curating looks at a rapid pace – and knows the stock like the back of her hand. She might just be the golden ticket.  But sshh, don’t tell anyone.

“Our customers have always loved that one-on-one styling experience,” said Ms Bartel.

“We have noticed they spend up to an hour in the change rooms and like to share their journey with a friend, their mum or as a group who book a session altogether. Denim is a big category for us and it’s really changed our positioning too,” she said.

Expansion plans

According to Bartel, showcasing the brand twice at Australian Fashion Week has been crucial in her rise. It elevated the brand from independent Melbourne newcomer and put a face to the name on a bigger scale outside of the WAG scene.

“I think fashion week is incredible for the whole industry and I still look to it as a place to be seen,” she said. “Showing in Sydney was so successful for Henne. It can pivot your brand and elevate it to an overseas market too.”

For now, it’s hustling to find retail stores around the country – a scouting of sorts and numbers crunching behind the scenes.

“More stores around Australia are definitely a big focus for us,” said Ms Bartel.

Henne opened a physical retail store in Sydney’s Paddington in 2024, with further expansion plans for 2026. Picture: Supplied / Lillie Thompson

“We are excited to be expanding, and looking at opening another store interstate towards end of 2026. Ideally, we would love to open five more stores in the next three to five years – a presence in every state would be amazing,” she said.

A quick stint on Dancing with Stars, a Fine Lines plunging bra campaign and her ongoing spray tan business involvement with friend Bec Judd, keep her engaged with her followers, but working in fashion is Bartel’s dream role.

“Henne is my main focus and I love what we’re doing,” she said.

“My sister and I always wanted to start our own brand, and to be going into our seventh year is proof it takes a long time to make a dream come true.”