I'm Rachel. Pretaportre is blog dedicated to the musings of a fashion enthusiast; its primary focus is on street style and editorials with a mix of runway. Pretaportre is a play on the french term "prêt-à-porter" meaning ready-to-wear. 
INNOVATORS OF THE YEAR 2012
The Row’s Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have transcended their celebrity youth to become serious designers with an eye for nearly monastic classicism that’s redefining American luxury.
Read WSJ’s article on MKA here.
Elle Russia June 2012 featuring Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen.
(via thefashionspot)
P.S. Today, June 13th, MKA will be celebrating their 26th birthdays. Happy Birthday!
“It’s a big night for these two lovely ladies as Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen attend the 2012 CFDA Fashion Awards in New York City.
The darling pair graced the red carpet at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall on Monday night (June 4) as they prepared to go up against Marc Jacobs, and Proenza Schouler duo Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez for Womenswear Designer of the Year with their work on The Row label.
Mary-Kate wore a top, skirt and bag all from her The Row Resort 2013 collection with Sidney Garber jewelry and Louis Vuitton shoes while sporting new dark hair. Her sister Ashley rocked a dress from her collection along with Sidney Garber jewelry and Manolo Blahnik shoes.
According to CFDA’s webpage, “THE ROW was established in 2006 by Ashley Olsen and Mary-Kate Olsen. Since its launch, the brand has expanded to include a range of ready-to-wear, eyewear, and handbags. THE ROW reflects a sense of relaxed and timeless elegance, focusing on fine fabrics and the perfect fit.”
Other fashion icons in attendance included Jessica Chastain, Lily Collins and Jessica Pare. Additionally, Johnny Depp will be honored with the 2012 Fashion Icon Award, given his fierce individuality and fabulous eye for clothing.”
“The Row’s Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, nominated for Womenswear Designer of the Year.
‘That was a real challenge, because Ashley got stuck in L.A. and couldn’t get back, and we really had to go to print, and I was really running out of time. Mary Kate was here, and we were trying to figure out how we were going to do it. I know Mary-Kate and Ashley, and I wasn’t about to leave one of them out, so I really had to get creative with that one. Sometimes when you’re presented with these Über-challenges, like you’ve got one girl in L.A. and one girl in New York and you’re doing New York portraits, what do you do? Go! Sometimes it forces you to come up with ideas you wouldn’t have otherwise, and it’s actually one of people’s favorite pictures of the book. Because you’ve never really seen that picture of two sisters Skyping face to face. They do it many times a week.’”
Get MK’s look…
· Roberta Chiarella Sofia Earrings
· ASOS Swing Dress With Cap Sleeve
· Forever 21 Women’s Fringe Cardigan
· ASOS SHINE Patent Pointed Court Shoe
Get Ashley’s look…
· Herve Leger Square Neck Dress
· ASOS Red Pencil Dress with Tulip Skirt
· Aldo long black clutch
· RSVP Rihanna Patent Black Heels
Get the look Ashley…
· Marc by Marc Jacobs Oversized Aviator Sunglasses
· Love Quotes Knotted Tassel Scarf
· T by Alexander Wang Classic T Shirt with Pocket
· Milly Satin Trimmed Bow Pants
· Alexander Wang Prisma Tote
· Michael Kors Round Oversized All Black Watch
· Premiata Anilou Asymmetrical Sandals
Get the look MK…
· Mosley Tribes Eyewear Colden Polarized Aviator Sunglasses
· 291 Mesh V Neck Tunic Dress
· Michael Kors Jet Set Sport Watch
· Cleobella Electra Bag with Beads
· KORS Michael Kors Vivian Wedge Sandals
The Row F/W 12.13 New York via Vogue.
“The crisscross, ribbon-laced sandals (in a winter collection!) were the only remaining homage to the heiress in the presentation—a chic surprise, certainly, to pair with pants and coats. (And not that improbable a look for cool-girl adoption, considering how many are running around the shows with bare legs and summer dresses in freezing New York). But really there was nothing at all about the show that overtly referenced the past. Once they had taken to slicing off the extraneous parts of a coat—lapels, pocket flaps, buttons—elongating pencil skirts, and thinking about how to rephrase a peacoat and pants (in navy chenille, woven with Lurex—amazing), it clearly became an exercise in modernizing classics—yet not in a cold or overly solemn way. There’s a quirkiness in what they do, that causes the viewer to look twice at what’s going on—like the way they zip a zone of mink into the front of a garment, which might have started off on the drawing board as a motorbike jacket, or how they mix two shades of mink in a coat which is cut into a chevron pattern at the top, and into vertical stripes below.
Yet the skills demonstrated in these pieces are serious enough. The Olsens know how to cut a complex thing and make it look simple: An ecru all-in-one had an almost monastic presence about it; a tunic top, gathered in front, had a ballooned back, creating a superbly elegant silhouette in profile. Without pretension, these girls are beginning to scale some impressive heights. Ultimately, their quiet, considered, and impeccably finished clothes and accessories speak to the principles of ease, modernism, and quality, that used to lie at the heart of American design. It’s really refreshing to see two designers of their generation wanting to do that.”
