Olsen twins have cool all sewn up

Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen attend the Holt Renfrew release of their Elizabeth and James collection for fall 2009.

"Probably 2," jokes Mary-Kate Olsen, trying to remember how old she was when she first learned to say "brand."

Now 23, she and her sister Ashley C operators in three thick-skinned industries, show biz, the rag trade and the licensing game C have managed the dazzling feat of going from tween-wear for Wal-Mart to fashion collections, both men's and women's, carried by merchants of upmarket cool. Yesterday, they were off to attend the opening of the Opening Ceremony mega boutique in Tokyo.

The day before, they were in Toronto as guests of Holt Renfrew, which stocks both The Row, the Olsens' high-end range dedicated to simple shapes in superb cloth, and Elizabeth and James, a mid-priced label that also appears on shoes and jewellery (designed by the esteemed Robert Lee Morris) and that since its launch in 2007 has seen 500 per cent growth.

Both collections have found credibility in a favourable reception from media and retailers, but the Olsens C four mesmerizing moon-sized, expertly made up, green eyes side by side on a couch in a suite at the Windsor Arms Hotel C are anything but complacent.

They have an energy field coloured by that mystical quality that belongs to twins, who always seem to be in on something that you're not. On top of that, they are charged with the nervous awkwardness of young women, who, though rich and powerful, were products before they grew into people, an act they performed publicly. They assert their adult wisdom in the form of caution, recognizing that the whole idea of celebrity fashion is prey to meanness and disparagement.

What gives these former kid stars the right? Just because they started work on Full House when they were only 9 months old and today are the full owners and co-presidents of the Dualstar Entertainment Group, the brand management company that made them multi-millionaires, doesn't mean they can thread a needle.

Those, however, are not the thoughts that arise when you watch the Olsens enter a room. Now throwing themselves into knowing how a jacket is cut, they know how to cut a fine figure.

Mary-Kate has thrown together a mannish but sheer Elizabeth and James shirt and vintage Issey Miyake trousers with an androgynous authority that would give Lauren Bacall a run for her money. Ashley has on a cashmere crewneck sweater and black miniskirt, a knowing version of an old-school back-to-college look. As if to show off what she's learning, she explains the skirt is made from a techno fabric, a blend of "Lycra and polyamide," which, for the non-cognoscenti, translates as "stretch nylon."