Style Speak: Saxonne Sisters

Sisters Courtney Saxon and Jade Schilling defintiely have style in their genes. They are the creative force behind not one, but two successful labels - Luxe Accessories, and their gorgeous apparel line Saxonne. We caught up with the stylish duo to talk business, sequins and style inspiration...

Hi girls! Thanks so much for taking the time to speak to us.
It is our pleasure!

Your SS09 collection is divine! Can you tell us about the inspiration behind it?
Saxonne’s new collection 'Karma' is inspired by the exotic beauty of the Mediterranean.

As sisters, how do you find it working together? Do you both take responsibility for a certain aspect of your brands or do you work across everything together?
As business partners, we work well together. We are quite different in our working styles, but have similar tastes in fashion - so it seems to be a good combination for success. We work on the same projects and usually travel together on buying trips. As sisters, we have our moments, as any sisters do, but over the years we have learned how to work together well.

Where does the name Saxonne come from? Any special meaning behind it?
Saxon is our maiden name. So it was only natural to adapt the word 'Saxon' to the french way Saxonne (in relation to our other label Luxe) It was a nice way to keep a little bit of our family with us in business!

Tell us a little about your background in fashion? Did you always know you wanted to have your own labels?
Our backgrounds are both in quite different fields - Japanese and health science. However, we knew from a very early age that we wanted to work in fashion. We both worked retail jobs through high school and then started Luxe at the ages of Jade (24) and Courtney (20). Luxe stared as a small range of jewellery and then quickly spread to leather and accessories. Today we stock to more than 100 stores nationally and several overseas and online boutiques.

You feature a lot of beautifully embellished pieces in your collection - would you say this is the Saxonne signature?
Yes, definitley. We love embellishments and detail on items. This came from an early age as our Mum was an Olympic ice skater and used to embellish all of her costumes with sequins and lavish feathers and lace. We have always been surrounded by sparkly costumes and jewellery, so it was only natural that Saxonne ended up with embellishments as its signature!

You successfully launched and still run Luxe Accessories? did you feel more confident about launching a label the second time around? Was a clothing line something you?d always planned to do?
Yes definielty. Luxe grew at such a rapid rate, and we were so young so the learning process was so valuable for us. We took everything that Luxe taught us and applied it to creating Saxonne. Now, both labels are working well as separate brands and both gaining amazing press coverage and celebrity endorsement. We even spotted Delta and Ruby Rose wearing one of our sequinned vests recently.

Your pieces are often featured in fashion magazines - do you still get a thrill when you see them?
We do. It's very exciting to see that the pieces that we dream and create are loved by others also. There is always a very big buzz in the office when we see something featured in a magazine.

What trends are you loving this season?
Loving lots of warm tones, blues and lobsters and studded styles. We love feminine styles with an edge, like a gorgeous summer floral dress with a pair of studded biker boots.

Who are you celebrity style icons?
Its very cliche but we still love Sienna Miller. She has such a unique look and is so confident in her fashion choices. She has a great way of mixing vintage with designer and making it look individual. Miranda Kerr and Whitney Port are two others that always looks so good even when they wear jeans and a T-shirt!

And lastly, what are favourite pieces from your latest collections and why?
Our favourite piece in this collection is the fully sequinned aroura vest - it is such a great staple item to have in your wardrobe and looks amazing over anything. In the Luxe collection, the favourite item would have to be the tilly bag in vintage black leather- a great day/night bag covered in detail, zips and studs.

Win a gorgeous Saxonne Maxi Dress!

The Saxonne girls have very kindly given us one of their Honeymoon Maxi Dresses to give away to one lucky reader, worth $185! For your chance to win, simply email us and tell us in 25 words or less your can't-live-without summer fashion items.

Entries close 5pm Wednesday 11th November and the winner will be notified by email. Entrants must be subcribers of the As seen in newsletter for thier entry to be considered.

As seen in
Bringing fashion from magazine to you