A model wears the Mainia Culottes and Zoe Top from Amelie Teje’s latest drop, BAYEUX.
Courtesy of Amelie Teje
A few years ago, during a campaign for the skincare brand Rhode, Hailey Bieber wore a piece by Amelie Teje, an Australian brand founded and designed by Paris Emily Nicholson and Saskia Teje Jenkins. It changed everything for the ladies, it was the first time a Big Name celebrity wore their designs, and things have been accelerating ever since.
“We loved her before,” Paris told me, “and Hailey’s been like the biggest game changer for us.” When this happened, they didn’t know at first, it took a couple of days for them to find out. Social media alerted them, when a fan of Bieber’s, one of the underappreciated fashion lovers of Instagram, tagged the brand’s page in a photo of Hailey wearing their design. “It was on my birthday,” Saskia explained. “We woke up, and it was ‘Happy birthday.’ It was great, it was really good.”
Paris and Saskia met when they were both about 18, close to a decade ago now. “Funnily enough,” Paris explained, “we actually met through our ex partners. We met at a festival. And we instantly just got along.” They started hanging out on their own, soon they were each other’s best friend. “It was like the Doc Martins era,” Saskia interjected. “It’s like we had known each other for so long, like it was just so easy.”
A model wears the Mysti Halter Corset in Noir from Amelie Teje’s BAYEUX.
Courtesy of Amelie Teje
Fashion is a throughline for them, both professionally and personally. They both grew up on Australia’s Gold Coast, both had stylish mothers; they shared an appreciation for apparel long before they ever met. “I feel like we have seen each other at every single stage,” Saskia told me. “We’ve seen each other through the mental breakdowns, the thriving, like everything. We even did long distance for a year when I moved to London. And when I came back, it was just stronger than ever. I think, having so much strain at so many different stages of our lives, that we’ve grown through it all together and supported each other. It was just easy, we didn’t wever have to think about it. It was just like, yeah, like, we could easily work together.”
The question the ladies get most often? How they blend friendship and business, what happens when they fight, when they disagree. “It’s like we’re sisters,” Paris explained. They communicate, tell each other when one is getting on the other’s nerves. “And then two minutes later, you’re just laughing about it like it never happened.”
Cherry Pie Cardigan in Sky Blue from Amelie Teje’s latest drop,
Courtesy of Amelie Teje
The name of their brand, Amelie Teje, is a blend of the ladies’ middle names, the French version of Paris’ middle name, Emily. It is a romantic name, and one that matches the aesthetic of their young brand. “We always knew where we saw the brand going,” Saskia told me. “Where it is now, we knew we wanted that from the start. It was like a seed, just a little bit more broad back then, but now what the brand is is like, that’s exactly what we wanted. And we wanted it to be cute.”
The pair has always been drawn to what Paris calls “that ultra femme.” Conscious of how many brands exist at their price point, wanting to create something distinctive, elegant and unique, they honed in on the look they loved the most, dedicated themselves to creating apparel they themselves would want to buy and wear. “It was the tail end of Covid, so athleisure, like sweats with logos were the big thing, and I think we were probably just sick of seeing the same styles over and over.”
Saskia does most of the designing, with input from Saskia, who handles logistics and the production end. It sounded to me almost like an ideal marriage, where each partner contributes their strengths and wants nothing but the best for their person. “It is like a marriage,” Paris laughed when I asked what they thought about that.
The Cordellia Bustier from Courtesy of Amelie Teje’s latest drop, BAYEUX.
Courtesy of Amelie Teje
“I will do the sketches and kind of pull together a collection,” Saskia explained. “Then we have someone that we outsource that helps with tech pack design and that kind of thing. But because we didn’t have a fashion education prior to this, it’s all just been like trial and error. And Paris is definitely involved. I always run everything across with her. Paris will be like, ‘who’s wearing this, no one can wear that,’ or ‘that’s that’s not realistic. That’s nice for a photo. But it’s not nice for actual everyday wear.’ I guess it’s a kind of balance, where she pulls me back down to earth. But at the same time I push her to take a little bit more risk.”
The plague years we all survived were a sort of wild west for fashion. Everyone, yours truly included, survived in leggings, pajamas, sweats and jerseys quickly became ubiquitous. The ladies both feel that they feel better, about themselves and about the world, when they take the time to take care of themselves, when they put effort into themselves. These are not catty women, for the entirety of our conversation there was never the implication of judgement, and they rush to support women at every opportunity. They earnestly believe, I cannot find fault with their position, that we all feel better when we dress up a little, especially when it’s just for ourselves.
At the end of last year the brand did their first influencer collaboration, dropping a mini collection designed with Rita Mota “We always knew we wanted to do collaborations,” Saskia told me.“And Paris and I have always loved Rita, she had worn the brand organically for a couple of years already. So when we were in the office and designing pieces, we always used her as a bit of a muse. Would Rita wear that? How would she style that? That’s the kind of girl that we want wearing our clothes. So what does she want?”
A model wears Dalia Two-Piece Dress from Amelie Teje’s BAYEUX.
Courtesy of Amelie Teje
They decided to just reach out and ask. “Why not?” Saskia said, “why not just ask her? And then it all just went really smoothly and really organically.”
“And now they’re our friends,” Paris explained. “Like it’s honestly girl power, and we’re all around the same age group. So it was not even work. It all just comes down to how and who you’re interacting with.”
This self-aware mindset expands into their brand’s DNA, these are thoughtful young women who intend to do good in this world.
“Obviously,” Paris said, “we try to minimize our carbon impact as much as we can. So all of our packaging is sustainable. Like our swing tags, our poly bags, pretty much everything. It’s like a small step, but it’s definitely something that we’re conscious of. We want to keep working towards that, as we grow sustainability.”
When selecting a factory to produce their line, the ladies had a lot of questions and concerns. “We made sure that they had sustainability procedures in place,” Saskia explained. “That it was a sustainable work environment. It just means a lot to us. Because clothing really impacts the environment, so we want to contribute any little bit that we can.”
Paris cites their home as inspiration to do their good work well. “I think the fact that we’re from Australia, the Gold Coast in particular, we’re so connected to nature here. And we’re so lucky to have this beautiful beach in front of us every day. I think being reminded of why we’re doing things definitely motivates us to keep on going. Being in a city, it’s like a concrete jungle and you kind of forget that nature is the start of everything. I think keeping that in mind has always been good for us, and it keeps us grounded and not overdoing anything.”
A model wears Amelie Teje’s Darla Midi skirt and the Bonita Cami.
Courtesy of Amelie Teje
Amelie Teje is committed to minimizing production. They would rather go back and order another round that overproduce and contribute to the quagmire of unwanted clothing. “When it comes to placing orders,” Saskia explained, “we never place really large orders. We’re still only do t smaller unit numbers, because for one, over ordering, it’s just unnecessary. We’d rather reorder than just get thousands and thousands of units. It’s just it’s not necessary.”
The ladies are flexible, something I suspect also comes from their upbringing, from the people they choose to keep close. “We might leave something on pre-order for a little bit longer,” Paris told me, “so it can be restocked. It’s just so much better than being stuck with all of this stock. It would be a waste. And we hate that.”
