Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen used to be two of the most visible people in the world, but they pulled a complete 180 when they became fashion designers.
The famous twins went from dozens of TV show and movie appearances to being reclusive high-fashion icons. But even though they’re no longer hyper-visible celebs, they’re still hugely influential with their line, The Row. In celebration of 15 years of the popular clothing brand, the sisters gave a rare interview about their business (with commentary and praise from fashion industry experts and fans like Gigi Hadid, Jonah Hill, and Zoë Kravitz) for i-D magazine.
As it turns out, their entire philosophy reflects their current desire to stay out of the public eye. Or as Mary-Kate put it:
“We were raised to be discreet people.”
Speaking specifically of the “discreet, modest” style adopted by The Row, Ashley elaborated:
“I think that potentially that’s just our aesthetic, our design preference. But that doesn’t mean that we don’t also appreciate something truly ornate or maximal. Sometimes a collection even starts quite like that, and then gets pared down. It doesn’t always start from that simplistic place.”
However, the discretion extended to their decision not to use their famous names or faces as part of the brand’s marketing. From the beginning, Ashley explained:
“We really didn’t want to be in front of it. We didn’t necessarily even want to let people know it was us, in a way. I mean, it was one of those things where it was really about the product, to the point where we’re like, ‘Who could we get to kind of front this so we don’t have to?’ I think, to this day, you’ll see we really put the product first.”
In keeping with their private personas, the 35-year-olds were tight-lipped about their child star days — though Mary-Kate’s allusion to their experience with “the fashion mass market” recalled the old days of MK&A merch and Walmart partnerships. But reflecting on their turn to the luxury market, Ashley shared:
“We had just moved to New York. We were 18 years old and I think what we did know was that we wanted to take that time to take a break from what we were previously doing and to explore things that interested us, and explore what life has to offer…”
MK supplied:
“Creatively.”
Whether in their acting career or their fashion pursuits, the pair have presented a united front since they were children. On doing business with her sis, Ashley remarked:
“We like working together and we like having that dialogue. I think it helps harden your ideas to be able to hear them out loud, to speak something through. You know, we definitely go by intuition and instinct and it can either confirm that feeling, or if we’re both not feeling right about something, for some reason, we just don’t do it. Our instincts are kind of the same.”
She continued:
“But I think what’s great is that we have each other to lean on. And managing design is one thing and then also running the business side is another and I think you have a lot of decisions to make. I mean, when you put those two things together, there’s a lot of decisions to make on a daily basis, so I think we feel fortunate that we can have that dialogue and divide and conquer a bit.”
Well, the twin business has obviously worked out for Elizabeth Olsen‘s older sisters, considering they’ve conquered both the entertainment and fashion industries. Who knows what they may accomplish next!
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