Gossip Teen

Newsweek magazine profiles Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen and their burgeoning fashion empire in this week’s issue.

While the two sisters are often dismissed as “pint sized,”  the business they have built is anything but. Working to keep their celebrity status low key, they’ve dug in to the fashion world and are earning respect.

The 24 year-olds are passionate about New York’s once flourishing garment district that has now virtually gone away. The Olsen’s say they want to really be representative of the American design and manufacturing that once was.

“I really believe in our being able to create here and utilize the skills that people have here,” says Ashley. “The skill set is here. Our main issue is that some of the machinery is gone, so some knitwear is produced in Italy. But whether it’s clothing or cars, I believe in manufacturing as close to home as possible.”

Ashley and Mary-Kate have gotten a huge boost when First Lady Michelle Obama wore a skirt from The Row when she appeared on The View last week. They’ve had to work hard for the recognition and that certainly helps.

Lourdes Leon accompanied her mother, Madonna in New York City to the 2nd Annual Bent on Learning Benefit. The event was sponsored by chic designers Alice + Olivia and had a performance by Ghost of the Saber Toothed Tiger (Sean Lennon and Charlotte Kemp Muhl’s band.)

Bent on Learning is an organization that provides yoga and meditation instruction to children in grades K – 12 to help with concentration, self esteem and overall health in New York City.

Lourdes really has a great sense of style. Love her look.

[images: Andres Otero/WENN.com]

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have been quietly building their high-end clothing line The Row, for a few years now. The designs are versatile, fashionable and well-made and have been successful from the initial release in 2007. Growing their line, the sisters announced earlier this month that they would have their first runway fashion show for the Fall 2010 line at New York’s Fashion Week in February and now they are launching the website for their brand. Therow.com is understated and subtle with a tactile ‘feel’ using fabric samples as the background.

What does the look and the feel of the Web site say about the collection?
Mary-Kate Olsen: We looked at a lot of different Web sites before we started working on our own, and we thought most of them were too loud. We wanted The Row Web site to be subdued and very direct. I think that has been a philosophy behind The Row ever since we started the line. All of the background visuals are high-res images of actual fabric swatches from our collections. We wanted the viewer to really see all of the details of the beautiful fabrics we use—washed red silk charmeuse, the scales of our python skins, our cashmere modals. We wanted it to feel like you could reach out and touch everything.

The unique personal style that Mary-Kate and Ashley have cultivated can overshadow the fact that they are talented and passionate about their clothing lines and they have built a great business. I’m looking forward to their fashion show in NYC next month to see what they have planned for The Row.

[image: Joseph Marzullo/WENN.com]

While filming on The Twilight Saga: Eclipse has just begun in Vancouver, INStyle Magazine put out a challenge to 10 designers to imagine what the wedding dress of Breaking Dawn will look like. Kristen Stewart’s character Bella Swan will marry Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) in the final book & film of the series and it is a crucial moment for the story as well as the fans. Fashion designers including Monique Lhuillier (her sketch is shown above) Max Azria, Lela Rose, Badgley Mischka, Zac Posen and Project Runway winner Christian Sirrano all took a turn envisioning a fairytale dress that movie goers and fans would appreciate. Check out the link here and tell us what one you like best.