Mary-Kate And Ashley Make The Row A Little Shadier

Filed Under: Fashion Smashion Olsen Twins Collection's Bureau

Successful and talented designers Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are branching out their high-end line The Row, introducing a line of eyewear for spring for the label. Photographed consistently donning their designer shades, the twins' incorporation of eyewear seems like a smart and logical progression into the accessories market.

The eyewear will be produced in a licensed partnership with Linda Farrow Eyewear, whose current partnerships include Dries Van Noten, Bernard Wilhelm, and Jeremy Scott.

Simon Jablon, managing director for the eyewear company said that The Row is, "selling in the best stores and is worn by people who are decision makers, so for our eyewear to be associated with them is fantastic. Mary-Kate and Ashley know what they want, so it doesn't feel like a standard licensing deal in that they really are hands-on. They're also fashion forward and innovative, which makes it exciting for us."

Expected to sell at The Row's current retailers, including Barneys New York and Bergdorf Goodman, the collection will exhibit four styles: an oversize square frame, vintage-inspired brow-line frames, 60s inspired round shades, and a classic aviator. The shades will range in price from $325-$390.

Of the new endeavor, Ashley said, "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. 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.”

Though they've dabbled in jewelry for their contemporary label Elizabeth and James, this is the first dive into the accessories market for The Row. The sisters are open to the idea of future exploration in the accessories world for the label, with possibilities of footwear and handbags down the road, but for now they're plenty busy as is.

"Designing eyewear was definitely more complicated than we thought, and of course we wanted to be extremely hands-on. From what I understand, the first year with eyewear is figurign out what the process will be like for us specifically. I think everyone does it differently, whether it's looking through old materials or archives or working with drawings and measurements," said Mary-Kate.

Though we only have two images of their shades, given their proven talent for design, we're sure their full collection will be tasteful and chic.

Can't wait to see the other glasses!

[Images courtesy of The Row.]

Posted: October 13, 2009 at 5:55 pm