Olsen twins have cool all sewn up

In fact, the Olsens would prefer the clothes to do their own talking. They chose not to use their names on their labels, because, Ashley explains, "We want the product to stand on its own."

That turns out to have been a smart move. According to an article in Women's Wear Daily last month, celebrity lines are losing their lustre, except for those such as Justin Timberlake's William Rast, Gwen Stefani's L.A.M.B, and the Olsens' The Row and Elizabeth and James, which, as less brazenly opportunistic, seem more plausible.

In other ways, the Olsens' set-up is exceptional. "We own our brands," says Ashley, "You know how most people have managers and agents saying what they should do? We don't have that."

While it was Ashley's search for the perfect T-shirt that instigated the establishment of The Row in 2006, both sisters are committed to growing their fashion business.

"We want to build brands the way Ralph Lauren built brands," says Ashley.

"We're not looking for the short term," says Mary-Kate, sounding equally executive and, an inch shorter than the five-foot-two Ashley, looking even more like Minnie Mouse in her hefty Prada shoes. "We've worked too hard to just cash out. We want to do it with integrity."

More active than Ashley in the entertainment business, Mary-Kate, who has appeared on the television series Weeds and last year played in a movie called The Wackness, nonetheless does not think of herself as an actor. "Very few great scripts or characters come along. So for me, working 10 days out of two years, doesn't really count. As a day job, this (fashion) is what I do."

However, the Olsens are not doing it in any flashy way. They have no interest in staging fashion shows. They want their collections to go directly to the consumer. The most direct route, of course, would be via stores of their own. But about retail plans, they say nothing more than they've given them thought, just as they have to handbags, eyewear and fragrance.

"We're really looking at this as long term," says Ashley. "We're business women before anything. We happen to be artistic ones, and driven ones as well."

 (Edit:Ruby)