fashionologie

Ashley Olsen, Robin Givhan, and Isaac Mizrahi Talk Skinny Models, Celebrity Designers, and Runway Diversity

fashionologie — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:51:36 -0700

>> Last night at the 92nd Street Y in New York, Ashley Olsen, the Washington Post's Robin Givhan, and Isaac Mizrahi gathered to chat with Glamour's Cindi Leive about the "Future of Fashion." Ashley, dressed in a long dress - a production sample from The Row - told Glamour backstage: "I'm actually not very comfortable with public speaking, and that was something I told myself I'd work on - getting out more and doing some public speaking."

Her "number one teammate," sister Mary-Kate, and boyfriend Justin Bartha were in the audience to cheer her on as she doled out tidbits like The Row's clients are an average age of 50, she thinks girls with small budgets who want to be fashionable should shop vintage, and she loves her Toms shoes: "So comfortable." Isaac Mizrahi helped keep the tone light - at one point, he took of his shoes to show off his toes, painted a "day-glo pumpkin" color, but the panel did delve into some heavy topics.

The highlights »

Olsens Have The Row Eyewear in the Works

fashionologie — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:55:43 -0700

>> Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen continue to pick up speed on their no-Olsen-name-attached luxury line, The Row. Next Spring, they're launching four distinct eyewear silhouettes in collaboration with Linda Farrow; no footwear or handbags yet - they have their "hands full" already, they told WWD.

The styles, priced from $325-$390, include aviators, vintage-inspired shades with brow-line rims, oversized square-framed sunnies, and one sixties-style round pair - similar to the shape Mary-Kate often favors. "We’re testing the market first and obviously these are four very different silhouettes, so we’re seeing what people are responding to and we’ll open up a couple more silhouettes for fall,” Ashley said. “We tried to find certain pieces that look good on more than one face, to pay close attention to how they fit certain faces and make them wearable at the same time.”

fashionologie — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 20:28:58 -0700

>> The Row to Do Jeans for Spring 2010 -Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen held their Spring 2010 showroom presentation for The Row today, and Who What Wear's Katherine Power Tweets: "such great jackets and for the first time, jeans! They look like vintage levis, so good." O magazine's Adam Glassman snapped a picture of a mint green cardigan from the collection. [Katherine Power Twitter, Adam Glassman Twitter]

Retailers Deem The Row "Perfect," But Don't Expect Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen to Hold a Fashion Show

fashionologie — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:34:55 -0700

>> Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen captured the hearts of fashion obsessives through The Row from the first collection - but who could have guessed that they would also win the heart Cathy Horyn, who prides herself on picking apart Riccardo Tisci at Givenchy, another industry favorite?

Horyn blogged about her interview with the Olsens yesterday, and today comes her article, in which Jim Gold, chief executive of Bergdorf Goodman and Barneys fashion director Julie Gilhart both deem The Row "perfect": Gold because The Row "offers the perfect blank . . . so many designers are intent on the next great trend that some of the basics are neglected" and Gilhart because of the timing - more and more women are looking for high-quality, classic pieces. They probably also like that they never have to put The Row on sale, since the line doesn't go out of style.

The majority of The Row's customers are 35 to 60, Ashley says, adding that the line will break even this year. Annual sales are expected to be 30 percent, and total sales are estimated at $10 million - for comparison's sake, Alexander Wang just told W his business is around $20 million, which W called "small." The Row is produced entirely in New York, with mostly Italian fabrics, and is designed with a precision concerning proportion - a black blazer, for example, has a high armhole, Horyn writes, "because the Olsens liked the way Paris couture jackets fit, with high armholes and narrow sleeves that make your arms look even skinnier and longer." Neither of the Olsens are interested in staging a fashion show.

No tank tops for Mary-Kate »

fashionologie — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 11:03:35 -0700

>> Cathy Horyn Chats with Mary-Kate, Ashley Olsen about The Row -Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were recently inducted into the CFDA, a watershed moment for an industry that typically shuns celebrity lines, and now Cathy Horyn writes that she interviewed the Olsens for a New York Times piece on The Row, coming out tomorrow: "I was strangely pleased to discover that their two-room production office on W. 39th looked like a storage closet, it’s so crammed full of scuffed furniture, sketches, dress racks and plastic-sheathed bolts of fabric." Ashley's take: “I think people would be surprised that all the product is produced from the five people who work here,” Ashley said. “I think that would be shocking-that the brand seems much bigger than the actual process is.” [On the Runway]

fashionologie — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 11:57:12 -0700

>> Ashley, Mary-Kate Olsen Cut into Alaia Dresses Without a Care -Ashley Olsen can cut a mean set of basics for The Row, but in the September 2009 issue of Marie Claire, she admits that she and Mary-Kate also cut other designer's pieces to suit their small frames: "The amount of beautiful things we've ruined - not having the patience for a tailor and cutting everything ourselves . . . My sister once took an Alaïa dress of mine and just cut the whole thing, and then she was like, 'I cut it too short.' Mary-Kate and I don't think about fashion as these clean, beautiful objects. We just kind of wear it and live in it." [Marie Claire]

September 2009 Issues To Be Lighter But Blonde-Heavy

fashionologie — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:58:02 -0700

>> As is to be expected, this year's September issues are not going to be the behemoths of yesteryear: publishers are approaching their closing deadlines this week and said that they expect issues to be about a third lighter than years past.

The September issues are still anticipated to be the Fall's largest, as most advertisers withdrew their pre-collection ads that run in August to focus on September and will run fewer ads, if any, in the remaining months. As for the cover faces, magazines are sticking with safe bets - blonde white women. Vogue will feature Charlize Theron, who usually graces their October covers (in 2004 and 2007); W will, as reported, have Kate Moss photographed by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott; Elle will boast perenially newstand-friendly Jennifer Aniston; Allure went with Amanda Seyfriend, Glamour with Jessica Simpson, and Marie Claire with Ashley Olsen.

No word on Harper's Bazaar, POP, V, LOVE, or Vogue Italia, but Vogue Paris is said to be breaking the blonde mold by dying a usually flaxen-haired model's coif black in a "radical model makeover" - some suspect the "luscious" beauty in question may be Lara Stone.

The 2009 CFDA Awards Are Here! Rodarte, Alexander Wang, Proenza Schouler Take Home Wins

fashionologie — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:33:28 -0700

>> American designers are trickling in at Alice Tully Hall for tonight's CFDA Awards - CFDA President Diane von Furstenberg was first to arrive, International Award winner Marc Jacobs walked the red carpet arm and arm with fiance Lorenzo Martone, Kirsten Dunst came with Womenwear of the Year nominees Rodarte, presenter Diane Kruger arrived with Swarovski nominee Jason Wu, Doutzen Kroes is resplendent in Zac Posen, and all were greeted on the front steps by a crowd of models in the nominees' creations.

Swarovski nominee Alexander Wang said he's "not nervous at all" - he woke up today and "forgot it was the CFDAs," but we'll have to wait and see if this turns out to be a night to remember for him, after all . . .

The ceremony is now underway, and host Tracy Ullman opened with a Kiefer Sutherland-headbutting joke - Proenza Schouler is an Accessory Designer nominee, and arrived with Daphne Guinness in tow - the CFDA crowd is a notoriously tough crowd, and the joke was met with "weak laughter."

Later on, Tracy, known for her designer impressions on her eponymous TV show, took a crack at impersonating Anna Wintour. Michelle Obama, who wasn't there in body, accepted her Special Tribute Award by video, and Rodarte's Laura and Kate Mulleavy accepted their Womenswear Award saying they watched Midnight Cowboy this afternoon to calm their nerves.

And the winners are . . . (nominees here):

Accessory Designer of the Year: Proenza Schouler
Popular Vote Award: Ralph Lauren
Menswear Designer of the Year: Italo Zucchelli for Calvin Klein and Scott Sternberg for Band of Outsiders (tie)
Swarovski Award for Menswear: Tim Hamilton
Swarovski Award for Womenswear: Alexander Wang
Swarovski Award for Accessories: Justin Giunta for Subversive Jewelry
Womenswear Designer of the Year: Rodarte

Ataui Deng Works The Row Cruise 2010

fashionologie — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:29:32 -0700

>> Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have done viral online video campaigns and asked Lauren Hutton to model The Row for a lookbook, but for their Cruise/Pre-Spring 2010 collection, they and brand consultant (and T staffer) Alex Hawgood asked for a strong black woman. Alek Wek's niece, Ataui Deng, was cast and photographed in the label's newest luxury basics by Daniel King.

Ashley Olsen Is All About the Fashion Industry

fashionologie — Wed, 13 May 2009 17:10:00 -0700

>> Ashley Olsen has been inching out of the public eye towards a more behind-the-scenes role for a while now, and in the upcoming Summer 2009 issue of VMan while promoting the new expansion of The Row into menswear with a Sebastian Faena-lensed editorial, she lays it out for interviewer Marc Jacobs:

The way I look at it, I had a career as a child. I had a career in an industry in which the media kind of. . . they're obsessed with the young girl thing. But when I turned 18, I moved to New York, and I haven't really done anything to be a celebrity. I've been transitioning from acting as a kid to doing something that I'm choosing for myself - to be a part of the fashion industry . . . the outside perception is very different because you do have celebrity brands, people like Jessica Simpson and Kimora Lee Simmons, and those are celebrity brands because they have their names on them.

I want to be behind the scenes, and I don't want people to know anything about my personal life. I have a job, I take it very seriously, and I work really hard.

Her focus now is The Row, but she's still looking at aquiring other brands: "I don't want to talk about them because there are a couple that could be potential opportunities. We're always thinking of new things, new divisions that are missing in the marketplace."