Encountering the ebullient van Lexmond sisters, Jetteke and Lieke, in Paris earlier this year at the presentation of their high jewelry line collaboration with Royal Asscher (hosted by none other than iconic stylist Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele), was a fashion week highlight. Apart from their warm personas, the van Lexmond sisters—one a fashion editor and the other an actress and TV personality from Holland—behold a raw talent embodied in the launch of their first collection. Style.com/Arabia speaks with the sisters on everything from the birth of their brand, to the rare fruit behind their first line, to de Dudzeele, their adopted fashion godmother.
ON THE POWER OF A CREATIVE MIND (TIMES TWO)
JETTEKE: I completed my studies at a fashion academy university in Amsterdam, including styling, after which I focused on magazines. I first started at a weekly magazine, which was really fast-paced, and I was able to learn so much. Afterwards, I was asked to launch Elle Girl in Holland and then after a few years, I was asked to launch Glamour magazine. Both were a big success and it was an amazing and beautiful time for me.
LIEKE: I started on television at the age of five—so, quite young—and at 11 I did my first movie and fell in love with acting; I knew from that moment that I wanted to act all my life. Later on, as a teenager, I did a soap opera series and other movies, and more recently I have been doing a lot of hosting. For the past two years we’ve worked together full-time, behind the scenes on this jewelry collection.
ON THE BIRTH OF A BRAND: LEXMOND VS LEXMOND
We had many similar ideas and we thought that we should start our own company. We have known the Asscher family for many years—it is small, but has a very wide knowledge about diamonds and gold; and so, the two families united.
Actually, Asscher approached us. They knew of our creative capabilities and out of the box thinking, and also our famous personalities in Holland—but only in Holland…we’re not at all famous abroad. And so, we really wanted to launch in Paris because we wanted to show the whole world that this collection and collaboration is first and foremost about quality. We designed everything—the colors, the shapes, the background story—and then found an amazing goldsmith and he helped us to create the molds.
ON THE COCO DE MER FRUIT, THE INSPIRATION FOR THEIR FIRST COLLECTION
We were together in the Seychelles—an island where everything is so big, ripe, and lush—and we fell in love with the Coco de Mer fruit. Also, as we’re growing older, we have a deeper appreciation that we women have to be more connected with each other and value the knowledge that we have together. This translated to the fruit—the more ripe and intense the fruit, the better. We wanted the jewelry to emit life and joy.
ON THEIR “GODMOTHER,” STYLIST CARLYNE CERF DE DUDZEELE
We always followed Carlyne in fashion and when we were talking about the launch in Paris we were told that maybe we could benefit from some sort of a “godmother” who could help us and host our event. They then asked if we liked Carlyne because they really believed that she would love the jewelry, and we thought, “Woah!” We were even thinking of women like Carlyne when we were designing the collection in the first place. She saw the jewelry and she wanted to help us and she became a friend; it was really special and it was like it was all meant to be.
ON THE NEXT STEP FOR THE LEXMOND VS LEXMOND BRAND
We’re currently making some very special pieces for the holidays—limited editions with a lot of diamonds. Come June or July we will also start working on our next collection, which is already in our minds! We just have to make the molds and then we can move forward. We have signed a contract with Asscher for many years so there is certainly much more to come.
Shop Lexmond vs Lexmond on www.lexmond.com.
Pictures by: ALIQUE
As told to Caterina Minthe
