While TV viewers probably remember Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen best as Full House’s Michelle Tanner, the twin sisters built a billion-dollar media empire completely outside the TGIF sitcom, and eventually shifted gears from acting to fashion. Despite the shift, the success remained consistent, and the Olsen twins have managed to spend their entire careers working side by side. And in a relatively rare moment of public self-reflection, Ashley Olsen broke down the elements of their relationship that have allowed their longtime collaboration to continue without fail.
Since retiring from acting, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have remained largely out of the limelight while building up an internationally renowned fashion empire. Having remained professionally connected since they were in diapers, you’d think the twin sisters might be tired of working together now that their in their mid-30s. But according to Ashley Olsen in a revealing interview with Vice's I-D, that isn’t so much the case. Here's how she explained their prosperous union's longevity:
We like working together and we like having that dialogue. I think it helps harden your ideas to be able to hear them out loud, to speak something through. You know, we definitely go by intuition and instinct and it can either confirm that feeling, or if we’re both not feeling right about something, for some reason, we just don’t do it. Our instincts are kind of the same. But I think what’s great is that we have each other to lean on. And managing design is one thing and then also running the business side is another and I think you have a lot of decisions to make. I mean, when you put those two things together, there’s a lot of decisions to make on a daily basis, so I think we feel fortunate that we can have that dialogue and divide and conquer a bit.
Given the synergy between the sisters, it isn’t surprising that the two still love working together, and it's encouraging that they're able to take advantage of their sisterly vibes in such a way. As Ashley Olsen pointed out, the twins can rely on each other when it comes to all things associated with running a fashion empire. And given the Olsen twins’ track record before fashion - which included a plethora of made-for-TV movies, music and more - it seemed to be in everyone's best interests for their bond to remain as intact as possible. And that teamwork goes beyond just sharing DNA for Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.
In the same interview, many of the Olsen twins' professional colleagues in the fashion industry revealed how hands-on the sisters are with their fashion label The Row on all levels. The Olsens are apparently quick to get hands-on and detail-oriented about all aspects of their products, as well as how those products make it into the world, through fashion shows and commercial releases. Gigi Hadid revealed that Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen work alongside their staff in the office every day. And all that is to say nothing about their talents with styles, trends and more.
Fashion may be their passion now, but the Olsen twins will always be part of the Full House family. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen stay connected with their former co-stars, according to Bob Saget. Despite not being present in Fuller House during any of its five seasons, the sisters still had a presence on the Netflix series through jokes and dialogue, and were even involved in the fashion industry for Michelle's backstory. While the Olsen twins continue to run The Row, you can watch old episodes of Full House on Hulu and Prime Video.
