>> Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are known for being press-shy, but yesterday they let The Oprah Winfrey Show follow them around on a typical day — which means stops at the Elizabeth and James and The Row showrooms for model fittings, plus meetings with Robert Lee Morris about their ongoing jewelry collaboration.  Morris jokes: "Ashley will show up a few days later and undo everything that Mary-Kate did," and the twins do admit that if they can't agree on something, they scrap the idea.  We also get a peek at the Spring 2009 Elizabeth and James jewelry — lots of layered chains — and also their new shoe collaboration with Steve Madden — think "beigey suede" and pony skin.

>> Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's book, Influence, doesn't come out until Thursday, but The Cut got an advanced copy — an advanced look at all the interviews the Olsens conducted for the book — among their subjects are favorite designers Francisco Costa, Diane von Furstenberg, John Galliano, Christian Louboutin, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, Giambattista Valli, favorite photographers Peter Lindbergh and Terry Richardson, plus pictures by Rankin of the interviewees and their work. 

Needless to say the Olsens didn't leave out their favorite Karl Lagerfeld — The Cut excerpted parts of his interview, including his views on models:

KL: [N]owadays you start to model because you're young. Now the girls are sixteen, seventeen, fifteen, and Russian. They are like from another planet.
AO: They can look very bizarre!
KL: I hate all these tall women. They are all giants!
MKO: If only I were a little taller — that would make me happy!
KL: You are one meter fifty-one. You are taller than that?
AO: We're five feet and one inch.
KL: Oh, I thought my office told me that you were four-foot eight or something. Not that it matters. What you need is a face. If you have a face you don't need height or a voice. Models know this; that's why the good ones don't need to talk much.
KL: I like to work with models for a long time. Sometimes the girls change, but some girls I work with for years and years.

Enlightening, perhaps, since some think the Chanel Spring 2009 campaign will host not long-time Chanel girl Claudia Schiffer but either Heidi Mount or Russian model Sasha Pivovarova . . .
*image: source

>> IN PRODUCTION —Steven Madden scored a coup today, signing to do shoes for Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's contemporary brand Elizabeth and James starting in mid-2009.  The pairing may seem unexpected, but the Olsens, who are rapidly expanding into accessories for the label, will remain creative directors of the footwear collection — whether the shoes will have Balenciaga or Givenchy influence remains to be seen.  Oh, and speaking of Olsens, Mary-Kate just arrived in Milan today — is there a Fashion Week appearance in the cards? [WWD, PopSugar]

>> IN PRODUCTION — Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen guard all details about their high-end label The Row like no other, but one new tidbit has leaked: under Ashley's direction (Mary-Kate works more on contemporary line Elizabeth and James), the line may be expanding into menswear as early as next Fall. [WWD]