Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s high-end fashion line, The Row, is coveted for its luxe and minimalist designs — but it does come with a hefty price tag.
The clothing line — which can have wait-listed products — features a $6,800 Margaux bag, a $12,900 cashmere coat and leather loafers for $1,860.
In Us Weekly’s latest cover story, a former higher-up at The Row exclusively shared that the clothes have a “very high markup.” However, most industry insiders agreed that the clothing line is high quality.
“The construction of The Row’s pieces are based on haute couture techniques — something even Christian Dior doesn’t do for ready-to-wear pieces,” a former design employee said. “Everything’s made in Italy with the finest, most expensive materials, and many of the pieces are oversize, which means the production costs are high.”
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While the brand has had tremendous success in the United States, it is not well-known across the globe. Paris-based fashion journalist Dana Thomas, author of Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster, claimed that French women don’t know what The Row is. “They wouldn’t pay that much for clothes,” she added.
Despite not having recognition world-wide, The Row is said to generate between $200 and $300 million in sales annually. Mary-Kate and Ashley work full-time for the clothing line, spending more time in the creative and operations as well as finance, respectively. Neither sister, however, designs the products.
The former Full House stars do have ideas when it comes to their clothing — but they’re not very vocal about it. A former senior employee admitted to Us that the sisters spoke so quietly it was almost a whisper.
“It was a bit of a nightmare,” the former senior employee said. “You have to learn to interpret the way they move their hands because sometimes that gives you more of an indication as to what they want the garment to look like.”
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Around the beginning of the pandemic, Mary-Kate and Ashley laid off the majority of The Row’s staff via email. A former higher-up said that the duo “don’t trust anyone,” with a New York fashion designer telling Us that anyone who entered their office building had to sign an NDA.
According to the former higher-up, Ashley maintains a better work-life balance than Mary-Kate, who “would be completely lost without work and horse riding.”
When it comes to what motivates Mary-Kate and Ashley, a former employee said, “I think at some point, they wanted to prove something.”
“Because they were TV stars when they were kids, no one really took them seriously when they launched the collection,” the former employee said. “Now it’s really the only celebrity collection that’s relevant.”
The former VP of Dualstar, Judy Swartz, praised Mary-Kate and Ashley’s success. “They are smart, talented businesswomen,” she said.
For more on Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, watch the exclusive video above and pick up the latest issue of Us Weekly — on newsstands now.
