Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen tend to give MAYBE one interview a year. Those interviews are usually pretty basic and bare-bones – they rarely break any news or say anything scandalous. And yet, their interviews are sort of fascinating because they really have completely leaned into their creepy twin thing, finishing each other’s thoughts and sentences, talking about how they share a brain, and generally being attached at the hip personally and professionally. It’s absolutely crazy to me that one of them (MK) managed to get married and has maintained her marriage for several years now. How is that possible? Anyway, MK and Ashley have a new interview in WSJ. Magazine. The point of the interview is that The Row is now doing menswear. But check out these quotes:
They do everything together: “It’s been 32 years of learning how to communicate… it’s a marriage and a partnership. We have had ups and downs. We do everything together,” Ashley told WSJ. “We came out of the womb doing that,” Mary-Kate added.
On how they market The Row: “We’re not product pushers,” Ashley says. “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.”
The menswear collection: “We spent a year really figuring out the fit of the suit,” Ashley explained. Mary-Kate added, “Single-breasted, double-breasted, tuxedo.”
They never intended The Row to be a brand? “We never started the company with the intention of it being a fashion brand,” Ashley admitted. “It’s not like one day we wake up and say, we’re going to grow this business, and we’re going to have a menswear collection,” Mary-Kate added. “That’s not the way we look at it.”
A few thoughts. One, “We never started the company with the intention of it being a fashion brand” – I don’t understand this at all? They started The Row and intentionally tried to make a very high-end line which would appeal to rich women. They succeeded. Why deny that intention now? Two, “we’re not product pushers” – I get that. Their whole brand is “low-key, word-of-mouth, minimal advertising.” Their clientele wears The Row so they too can look like rich, discreet hobos. Discretion is their brand more than any article of clothing. Three, “it’s a marriage and a partnership. We have had ups and downs. We do everything together.” Maybe do something with other people too??? I get that they have a psychic, creative, emotional and financial partnership. But hang out with other people too, damn it.
Photos courtesy of WENN, WSJ. Instagram.
I like them and good for them…
Still wishing for them to join Fuller House for just 1 episode.
And HOW would that happen. They don’t exactly look…similar anymore.
I came here to say that! When I used to read they were fraternal twins I thought, “No way!!” But now they don’t really look alike at all. Weird.
I needed that mid-morning nap.
LOL! +1000!!!
Whoa! These two are the scary sisters. How can two rich, fairly young women look like a picture of my great-aunt Zula at her 80th birthday party?
+!
“Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s The Row is launching menswear”…..i’m actually here for this.
Do they own hair brushes or ever have an expression on their blank faces?
I’m sure they have other friends than each other. They probably just prefer just the two of them. I love them, and have loved them since the 90’s. If I could afford any of their stuff, I’d buy it.
As a short person, it makes me sad that the twins are 5’1 and yet their fashion line does not include petite sizing.
“it’s a marriage and a partnership. We have had ups and downs. We do everything together.” – this is a twin thing. I have grandkiddos that are twins (one boy and one girl) and they do their own things with others, but in the end that bond of twinship is great. It’s pretty unique to see.
I’m a twin, and you are correct. It really is an amazing bond. It’s the greatest gift I have have ever been given. She was right there for all of my major formative moments, so she understands me and my history in a way that no one else could. We don’t live in the same state anymore, but we talk all the time, send each other videos and take girl trips and go on adventures. Growing up (and even into college), I think some of our peers were jealous of our bond, but we understood because it is such a gift that we were lucky to receive.
Yep me too. People are so fascinated when you’re an identical twin. My sister and I are so close, but our personalities are quite different. Can’t imagine life without her, and here I am going to give birth to twins. Twinning for sure!!
That’s so amazing you are having twins! I am sure it almost means more to you as a parent, because you really understand how special it is. I’m so happy for your and your babies!
It’s a miracle. I thought I was pregnant, but I am 39 years old and have three kids. Then I lost my brother and was devastated. Then to learn it was twins, I was certain it was from above. So we are thrilled. This summer is a blur! Yeah, I know you understand, it’s a twin thing!!
I think there’s a touch of romanticising there. My dad’s a twin, he’s no closer with his twin than any of his other siblings. In fact the family likes to joke about how completely average their bond is lol. I know plenty of other twins also who don’t feel any sort of mystical connection and in fact outright reject it and hate being thought of as an inseparable unit.
Maybe they meant it wasn’t intended to be permanent? Like they just wanted to make the perfect t-shirt or one collection and now here they are.
I love the Row and will wear everything once I’m rolling in cash. The aesthetic of The Row is more minimalistic than their personal style, not hobo at all.
It boggles my mind that the one on the left in the picture directly above has deliberately changed her appearance with plastic surgery. She looks 10 years older than the other one. I get that people should be able to look the way they want; i just don’t understand it.
Now I can’t tell her and Elizabeth apart.
I think that is Mary-Kate. She has had some health issues in her past (anorexia, kidney problems) and possibly drug use..( wasnt she the one that was somehow connected to Heath Ledger’s death?)… all of this can definitely affect ones looks…
^^^ This. Rumor has it the funny looking (now) one, MK I think, had a collapsing nose situation and the reparative surgery went… awry, basically.
They used to be FAR more identical and even got matching nose jobs in their teens to maintain their matching faces.
I always thought Ashley was prettier but now MK looks like a sad alien and Ashley still looks like a young woman.
They are also fraternal twins. My sister and I looked identical when we were younger but now we look nothing alike.
I knew they were fraternal rather than identical, but I can remember seeing pictures of them when you literally couldn’t tell them apart.
I think that not only their twin bond unites them but also the way they were raised. There is nobody else who could understand what they went through except for each other. I think is pretty telling the fact that as soon as they turned 18 and became adults, they went into this secluded life and phased out of acting completely, they obviously hated the fame side of things.
Honestly, I like their Elizabeth and James line better than The Row. The Row to me is just over priced Gap like basic pieces.
That’s basically what The Row was meant to be initially… Ashley (I think) said years ago that The Row started as a quest to make the perfect white t-shirt.
I also prefer Elizabeth & James. The clothes are cute, comfortable, and much more affordable.
“The Row to me is just over priced Gap like basic pieces.”
THANK YOU. that’s what I’ve always thought, too. when I hear people say “oh I LOVE the Row stuff but it’s so expensive” I tell them “go to the Gap and get it all for a tenth of the price”.
like really, what’s so great about white button down shirts and khakis? and their suits look like oversized Dr. Evil uniforms. just proof that people will buy anything if it’s priced so high it makes them part of an “exclusive” group. Pants for over a thousand, for a “wool blend”? a nylon fanny pack for $1300? you can get custom made clothing that will be tailored to your body perfectly for a LOT less than that.
They are 32? Wow…they are looking rough.
Smoking, eating disorder, drugs, and creepy men who can’t wait for you to turn “legal” pretty much since you a toddler will take a toll on you.
You know I’m kind of wondering how they would look like when they are very old and have grey hair. Cute?
My cousins are twins and growing up I was soooo jealous, I wanted my own twin! But now as an adult I can see how debilitating it can be. They don’t have the need for other people. Their spouses knew from the getgo that they were second to the twin thing, and it continues to be that way. I can’t imagine what will happen if one of them *god forbid* leaves this earth first. The Olsen’s are exactly the same way. On the outside it seems creepy, but it’s not. It’s that their connection is deeper than we could ever understand. They truly are half of a person without the other.
yeah, I know two sets of twins who are always frustrated that people don’t see them as individuals… but one sets almost 40 and the other almost 30 and they’re all still sharing a room and do everything together. I honestly can’t see any of them in a serious long-term relationship because they are so committed to the twin relationship.
I’m a twin, and I did a project with 40 sets of twins. It was mind blowing! This one set of college age girls told my sister and I that they still dress alike every day. They eventually wanted to marry twins and live together.
My sister and I (and other sets working on the project) found this to be hella weird. Really, really unhealthy. I love my sister incredibly, she is my best friend, but our parents also raised us to be individuals. We didn’t dress alike even as kids (unless it was for something like a dance recital). It’s really important that twins are raised to recognize their bond, but also recognize their unique and individual talents and preferences.
God forbid! If my mother had dressed us alike as kids, oh geez. We were each into our own style, we have the same blonde curls, but different styles. We have twin cousins (they’re all over my family!) and one of them married a twin, not knowing before the fact, she was a twin…lol. The Patty Duke Show! haha 🙋♀️🤷♀️
We have 4 sets of twins in our family. I have first cousins who are identical and all my brothers have fraternal girl twins. The fraternal twins ARE close, but the identical twins are so much closer. They have the same career, married twins and live in the same subdivision ( literally two houses away from each other). They even vacation together, once a year without their husbands. The twin husbands do their own vacations once a year vacation Together. I think it’s an extremely tight bond but it truly seems like a wonderful gift from nature. BTW, I have sisters and we are very close. We talk daily and lean on each other a lot. But we definitely do not have the twin bond.
The B&W picture of them is lovely.
If their interpersonal relationship works for them really well professionally why change it?
If a marriage can be sustained within that too, again why change it? Only needs fixing if it isn’t working.
Yeah, and The Row seemed like an experiment that went beyond their expectations. I mean, early in their career who really expected them to be fashion icons in all seriousness?
Not I.