Saturday, February 3, 2018

Winning London: Ashley Olsen And Mary-Kate Olsen Launch Vintage At Selfridges

Running two highly-successful fashion lines for more than a decade, Ashley Olsen and Mary-Kate Olsen are now amongst America's most successful designer exports. Together, The Rowand Elizabeth and James shape a contemporary wardrobe that reflects the designers' own style.

Now, for the first time under the latter label outside of the US, the designers are launching a curated edit of hand-selected vintage at Selfridges. Alongside the Elizabeth and James spring/summer 2018 and resort offering, the pop-up will host hand-selected pieces sitting seamlessly amongst the new collections.

"This concept of curation and Elizabeth and James Vintage has become an important element of our brand story," Ashley told Vogue. "We are excited to be able to share it with our customers in London for the first time. Our curated vintage has been successful for Elizabeth and James because of how well it complements the main line and vice versa. The juxtaposition is what makes the rack interesting and unique."

"Selfridges has always been a great partner," adds Mary-Kate. "They are innovative and are always looking for new ideas. As businesswomen, but also creatives, it felt like a perfect partnership."


The introduction of vintage alongside the new lines has proved a fruitful venture for the 31-year-olds, and one that both are heavily involved with. As Mary-Kate explained: "We hand select the pieces for each installation. We have our core vintage assortment, but we look at each buy closely and choose one-of-kind items that will help tell a story around the Elizabeth and James line."

The London curation features summer-ready pieces that inject a touch of Cali-cool to the third-floor space. Think khaki utility jackets, louche floral cotton kimonos, retro logo T-shirts and perfect pairs of vintage jeans, all punctuated with that bohemian breed of interiors that the stores bearing their name have become known for.

Long-time vintage shoppers themselves, the designers led the mass revival of vintage shopping in the early Noughties and are known to step on red carpets in archived pieces. So, when it comes to shopping for vintage what rules do they go by? For Mary-Kate, "there are no rules" while Ashley focuses on the rarity of vintage pieces: "If you love it, buy it, because you may never find it again. That is the beauty of vintage."

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