Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have granted a rare interview as the twin designers ready to launch their first-ever full menswear collection.
The 32-year-old child stars have mostly shied away from the spotlight since walking away from their acting careers and starting their high-end fashion line, The Row, in 2006, but they’ve posed for and talked to Wall Street Journal Magazine to discuss their new project — and how well they work together.
‘It’s been 32 years of learning how to communicate,’ Ashley told WSJ Magazine, adding that their relationship is ‘a marriage and a partnership. We have had ups and downs.’
They speak! Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have granted a rare interview as the twin designers ready to launch their first-ever full menswear collection
Quiet: The 32-year-old child stars have mostly shied away from the spotlight since walking away from their acting careers and starting their high-end fashion line, The Row
Learning from being little: ‘Our whole lives we spent most of our time in fittings. Because we’re so petite, we had to cut clothes to our size,’ Mary-Kate explained
Mary-Kate and Ashley were acting practically straight to the womb, shooting to fame at age one on Full House.
Hubby: Mary-Kate briefly alluded to her husband, Olivier Sarkozy, who wears suits — like those in The Row’s new menswear collection
They went on to star in a series of very popular straight-to-video movies like Passport to Paris and Billboard Dad, some in-theater hits like It Takes Two and New York Minute, and two more series — Two of a Kind and So Little Time.
But shortly after New York Minute came out in 2014, the two walked away from acting and began their second careers as designers. And while they may not want to be on screen anymore, their time in front of the camera certainly informed their love of fashion and their skill for crafting silhouettes.
‘Our whole lives we spent most of our time in fittings. Because we’re so petite, we had to cut clothes to our size,’ Mary-Kate explained.
At the same time, that background of fame made them averse to advertising, modeling their own stuff, or shilling on social media.
‘We’re not product pushers. I don’t know if it’s because of the way we grew up — we just don’t like talking about ourselves or talking about what we’re doing…. It’s not really our approach,’ Ashley said.
Luckily, they seem to be in complete agreement about their current work.
‘We do everything together,’ said Ashley, prompting Mary-Kate to add: ‘We came out of the womb doing that.’
Tailored: The new menswear collection includes denim and knitwear, but is mostly made up of ‘tailored separates and suits’
Wow! Prices range from $3,950 to $5,795, with the priciest item in the Fall 2018 collection, a chinchilla overcoat, costing $7,850
Now, the pair are working on their first ever full menswear collection for The Row, which they say is designed for ‘the husband’ of the typical female The Row shopper — not unlike Mary-Kate’s husband Olivier Sarkozy.
According to the WSJ, it includes denim and knitwear, but is mostly made up of ‘tailored separates and suits’. Like the womenswear line, it’s expensive: Prices range from $3,950 to $5,795, with the priciest item in the Fall 2018 collection, a chinchilla overcoat, costing $7,850.
With such high-end and tailored tastes, the twins are, unsurprisingly, not fans of the current streetwear trend, raising their eyebrows when its mentioned.
‘I don’t think people are taking big risks in menswear,’ Ashley said.
‘It’s funny, because this is more of a risk than putting words on a T-shirt,’ added Mary-Kate. ‘Who knew that black, gorgeous, perfectly fitted suits would be a risk?’