Adding Sunglasses to The Row

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Add a new project to the list of things Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have taken on – sunglass designing.

Vintage-inspired sunglasses will be introduced on their luxury label, The Row, this spring, according to WWD.com.

The tiny 23-year-old twins are often seen hiding under giant shades, so it's only natural they'd be interested in adding them to their collection.

While the rest of us still have to wait a few months to try a pair on, Mary-Kate has been spotted sporting a square frame that's part of the line during London Fashion Week. It's reportedly one of four different styles in the collection.

Round shades, a classic metal aviator, and a vintage-inspired brow-line round out the line-up, reports WWD.

They'll range in price from $325-$390, and will be sold in high-end department stores.

"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.

On top of their acting careers, the twins already design jewelry and shoes, but that doesn't mean making sunglasses came easy.

"Designing eyewear was definitely more complicated than we thought, and of course, we wanted to be extremely hands-on," Mary-Kate told WWD.

Olsenboye JC Penny Commercial Teaser

More on the Olsenboye line

Click on Above Title to link to original LATIMES article by Max Padilla.

A celebrity fashion collection doesn’t have to be an oxymoron (we’re still waiting to see how Lindsay Lohan’s future as artistic advisor to Paris house Ungaro will pan out -- regular readers of All the Rage may recall that it didn't begin well). Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s forays into the rag trade have been met with kudos from the industry. In July, the 23-year-old sisters were inducted into the prestigious Council of Fashion Designers of America, along with Alexander Wang, Jason Wu and J. Crew’s Jenna Lyons, on the basis of their design work on luxury label the Row and the contemporary-priced Elizabeth and James collection.

Now the Olsen twins have set their sights beyond the racks at Barneys and specialty boutiques and targeted the suburban closets of American teens and tweens with their exclusive collaboration with JCPenney, called Olsenboye.

Olsenboye, an Olsen family name, follows the theme of an oversized-sunglasses-wearing globetrotter who gleans wardrobe ideas from young women in fashion capitals. In keeping with the theme, the department store visuals will feature travel trunks, passport stamps and luggage stickers.

The Olsenboye prelaunch lineup, which premieres Nov. 6 in 50 select Penney’s and online, features cropped blazers, jean leggings, oversized peace-sign graphic T-shirts, a striped waffle-knit thermal, hooded sweatshirts, bags and footwear. A full ensemble will debut in February, including handbags and shoes. The pattern-heavy collection is meant to be mixed-and-matched -- florals, plaids and stripes -- in the trademark Olsen boho style.

Olseboye follows Penney’s reasonable price points, retailing from $20 to $50, and arrives in a wide size range, from 0 to 15.

Last Thursday (Oct. 22), when the Council of Fashion Designers of America celebrated its newest members at New York’s the Four Seasons, Ashley Olsen told the organization that she and her sister got their first taste of design by altering adult-size clothes to fit their then-preteen frames: “That’s really how we got into tailoring,” said Ashley. “We always loved it.”

MKA Juniors Line Coming to JC Penny

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Mary-Kate And Ashley Olsen Take Their Fashion Sense To J.C. Penney

MTV News in Fashion & Style
By Nuzhat Naoreen


Look out fashionistas, the Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are coming to another store near you. The duo, who already have two high-end clothing lines, Elizabeth & James and The Row for men, are hitting the mass market with a junior's collection for J.C. Penney.

The line, Olsenboye, which is apparently Mary-Kate and Ashley's ancestral last name (although we're still inclined to think it's Tanner!), will mostly feature casual sportswear and accessories, including tops, dresses, handbags and shoes, priced from $20 to $50.

“It’s very fun, fashion driven, trendy and wholesome at the same time,” Liz Sweney, Penney's executive vice president and general merchandise manager of women's, told WWD . Of course, we wouldn't expect anything less from the Olsen girls, who recently became members of the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

The clothes will range in size, from 0 to 15. “It’s really important that Olsenboye serves lots of girls,” Sweney said. “It’s not just about girls size zero or one.” We can definitely appreciate that.

JCP plans to roll out the collection in its 500 stores in February, but eager fans can get a sneak peak online at jcp.com and at select stores, including the Manhattan flagship, starting November 6th for a limited time.

The 23-year-olds, who are far from new to mass marketing — they've been selling products including makeup and furniture to major retailers, like WalMart, for years through their company Dualstar Entertainment Group — actually approached JCP with the idea of a clothing line.

“Mary-Kate and I watch current trends and see our partnership with J.C. Penney as an opportunity to add something unique to the marketplace, especially in the current retail climate,” Ashley told WWD .

Whether or not the line will boost Penney's sales remains to be seen, but we certainly have high expectations for the fashion forward twins.

48 Hours Special

PETA Protests MK and Ashley Outside Book Signing

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The fur was flying—albeit peacefully—at the Olsen twins' Los Angeles book signing last night.
On hand to promote and sign copies of their new photo-driven coffee-table tome Influence, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were met not only by a flock of their style-conscious fans but by a mob of PETA protesters.
"The Olsen twins support an industry that forces animals to live in tiny wire cages their entire lives and electrocutes and kills them for vanity," PETA rep Ashley Byrne told E! News.
The animal-rights activists' beef, as it were, is not only due to the Olsens' frequent donning of fur and animal skins, but their use of both materials in their higher-end clothing line, the Row.
Eschewing their traditional headline-grabbing tactic of hurling red paint on the offending billionaire moguls, PETA, which has been campaigning against the so-dubbed "Trollsen Twins" since 2007, resorted instead to more calm, but equally disruptive, tactics.
At last night's event, PETA supporters wore doctored Olsen masks and held signs reading "Trollsens: Fur Hags From Hell" and "Hairy-Kate and Trashley Olsen: Fur Tramps."
The 22-year-olds, who did not immediately comment on Wednesday's protest, have long been easy targets for the animal-rights campaigners.
PETA previously launched an entire website dedicated to condemning the fashion plates' decision to use animal materials in their personal and professional lives. A video section on the site, dubbed "Full House of Horrors," also features edited video clips of the girls in their Michelle Tanner heyday interspersed with graphic footage of animal cruelty.
PETA has also launched a billboard ad campaign against the dynamic duo, featuring the twins' visages along with the tag line, "Fur is worn by beautiful animals and ugly people."
A rep for the Olsens has yet to comment on the incident.
—Additional reporting by Ashley Fultz

Dualstar mastermind Robert Thorne Represents Snoop Dogs New Clothing Line

Snoop Dogg to unveil new clothing line this week

(click on title above to link to snoop dogs clothing website)
Snoop Dogg
Rich & Infamous will showcase in Las Vegas
Aug 25, 2008
Snoop Dogg is set to unveil a line of clothing this week in Las Vegas, and will promote the brand through every entertainment project with which he’s involved.

The line which is called Rich & Infamous, will showcase at the Magic Fashion trade show in Sin City, and will be promoted through Snoop’s E! reality TV show ‘Father Hood’ as well as in his music videos, on his world tour and on his CD packaging.

The brand, which is aimed at men aged 18-35 will be streetwear-based and will include accessories and grooming products, says Variety.

"The Rich & Infamous brand is sculpted from Snoop Dogg's trend-savvy classic vision," Robert Thorne, CEO of the Robert Thorne Co. brand management firm told Variety.

“For Snoop Dogg, the name represents "a fraternity of sorts -- from presidents to gangsters -- who've been able to endure the burden of gaining wealth at any cost. Garnering equal parts admiration and disdain, these men savor the fruits and relish the spotlight," Thorne said.

Jewelry Line for MKA

"First clothing lines The Row and Elizabeth and James and now a jewelry collection? The fashion gods must be listening! Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have teamed up with CFDA award-winning jewelry designer and sculptor Robert Lee Morris to create bling for the masses under a line dubbed Robert Lee Morris for Elizabeth and James. Well, the price point of the line will determine how much mass appeal it will have, but I can't wait to see the pieces. The trio has been hard at work for a few months, digging into archives in Morris' headquarters in downtown Manhattan. So what can we expect from the petite sisters? Why, nothing short of silver and brass dagger necklaces, knuckle rings, and cool earrings. Bring. It. On!

Start saving money — Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's jewelry line is due to hit stores in September. The Robert Lee Morris for Elizabeth and James collection will consist of over 80 gold and silver pieces. Staying true to their unique style (see Mary-Kate's little bedecked hands below), look forward to seeing abstract earrings, necklaces, metal cuffs, and rings embellished with crosses and daggers along with beading.
Commenting on the collaborative collection, Ashley states, "We liked the idea of having playful elements along with timeless and ageless pieces. The symbols are attachable and you can take the jewelry and make it your own. There are solid silver and gold pieces to wear forever and comfort pieces that you'll put on and wear everywhere."

The pieces will retail from $65 to $700, and be sold at Intermix stores nationwide, Holt Renfrew, Lane Crawford, and On Pedder. The dynamic duo have also hinted to an upcoming shoe and bag collection.

Buy their coffee table...and then their book..wait, do they sell coffee tables? Surely they do.

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen explain it all
01:00 PM CDT on Monday, August 4, 2008

The Philadelphia Inquirer
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are, in the words of People magazine, "gearing up to take the literary world by storm" with the publication of their joint memoir, the 272-page Influence, which purportedly charts the Olsens' spiritual and artistic maturation. (And to think they're just 22 years old.)

The sisters "take readers on a journey through their celebrated young lives, pausing to reflect on what has helped shape them into who they are today," a news release reads. The Olsens include interviews with the 20 people who have helped shape them the most, including fashion designers Karl Lagerfeld, Diane Von Furstenberg, John Galliano and Christian Louboutin and model-actress Lauren Hutton. (Curiously missing are such trendsetters as Leo Tolstoy, the Dalai Lama, Jane Austen, Adam Smith and Patti Smith.)

"We want to explain culturally how ideas evolve," Mary-Kate said. The book also features drawings and photographs, and would go beautifully with most standard coffee tables.