In the ’90s, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were constantly on the small screen — from starring on Full House to Two of Kind to So Little Time. However, over time, the twins have retreated from the spotlight, barely appearing on red carpets and giving interviews.
Instead of dabbling in acting, the ladies tried out something new: branching out into the fashion world. In 2006, they launched The Row, a luxury fashion label.
Now, the brand is super successful, having won several fashion awards, including the honor of the Council of the Fashion Designers of America.
At first, the stars didn’t want their names to be associated with the brand.
“We really didn’t want to be in front of it,” Ashley said. “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.”
She added, “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 (creatively). We wanted to explore making something of ourselves.”
As for why the actresses decided to take a step back from showbiz, Ashley said: “I was reading scripts, and ultimately I just said to the people who were representing me, ‘I need to do things 100 percent. I don’t feel like I can give you 100 percent of my time,’ ” she said. “There’s a lot of compromise in the entertainment industry. I can’t sit in this room and audition for this part.”
With that said, Mary-Kate and Ashley are passionate about their fashion endeavors, and the former explained what they bring to the table.
“I think we’re very much perfectionists and hard workers and we’ve always been hard workers,” Mary-Kate Olsen shared. “So, I am happy that people look at it as a perfect product, or products that feel complete, or whole. I think the reason that we do fashion is to constantly try to fix our imperfections, and you always have next season to do that. It’s also our job to find every imperfection in there to make sure that we’re constantly pushing ourselves and training our eyes and making sure everyone is served. Just evolving and learning.”
That’s not to say that Ashley and Mary-Kate don’t make a red carpet appearance every once in a while — they have been spotted at the Met Gala and CFDA Awards. For now, their sister Elizabeth Olsen is the one to watch, as she stars in WandaVision, Avengers and more.
