Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen Are Coming for Savile Row

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen Are Coming for Savile Row

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's line, The Row, has maintained a near-exclusive focus on womenswear since its inception in 2006 (they also won Accessory Designer of the Year at the 2018 CFDA Awards). But now, the former child stars have designed a full menswear collection for the first time. And considering The Row's reputation for meticulous, beautifully made clothing, we're excited to see the range.

In an interview with WSJ Magazine, Mary-Kate and Ashley revealed that they've been working on the line for over two years, traveling around the world in search of the perfect manufacturers (the menswear shirts are now made in France, the suits in Japan, knits in Italy, and denim and t-shirts in the U.S.). The team reportedly asked friends and husbands to try out samples before they went into production. It was a slow, painstakingly researched process, reminiscent of the beginning of the designers' careers back in 2005; the twins initially experimented with fashion in an attempt to make "the perfect t-shirt."

The menswear collection will focus on tailored separates and suiting, with some knitwear and denim. The suits range in price from $3,950 to $5,795. The Row is absurdly luxurious, but also one of the rare lines where you get what you pay for; all of their pieces are soft as butter and essentially indesctructible. And according to retailers, the high prices aren't deterring clients. As Jennifer Sunwoo, chief merchandising officer for Barneys New York, told WSJ, the brand stands out from "today's prevailing influence of fast-fashion." Bruce Pask, the men's fashion director at Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus, said that the twins remind him of "what Helmut Lang was doing in his day."

The piece also pointed out that The Row's kind of menswear is out of step with popular men's fashion today, aka streetwear.

"It's funny, because this is more of a risk than putting words on a T-shirt," Mary-Kate said. "Who knew that black, gorgeous, perfectly fitted suits would be a risk?"

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