Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are icons, but they famously love their privacy. The 39-year-old designers had a rare joint appearance Monday night at the star-studded 2025 CFDA Fashion Awards in New York City.
The 39-year-old designers skipped the red carpet, slipping quietly into the American Museum of Natural History in coordinating black coats from their label, The Row. Once inside, they took home the American Accessory Designer of the Year award. It's one of several CFDA honors they’ve collected over the past decade.
The sisters were basically walking The Row campaigns. Ashley wore the brand’s $5,500 Erdene tuxedo-style coat with a satin shawl collar, while Mary-Kate opted for a similar version with structured shoulders and front darts.
Underneath, they kept it simple: Mary-Kate in white, Ashley in black. They accessorized with jaw-dropping vintage Cartier pieces. Ashley paired her look with a 1928 Art Deco jadeite and diamond Cartier brooch (valued at $65,000), while Mary-Kate wore a 1938 citrine and diamond necklace that once sold at Sotheby’s for around $338,000, per Page Six.
They took the stage to accept their awards and were introduced by actor and comedian Benito Skinner and jewelry designer Jennifer Fisher. Mary-Kate kept it short and simple, “To our amazing customers who truly give us the opportunity to do what we love, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you,” she said.
She also gave a sweet nod to their support system: “To our friends and family - without your support, we would not be here today. You’ve been our guiding light over the past 20 years.”
How they got into the fashion industry
After starting in the industry at just 9 months, the twins left Hollywood and moved to New York when they were 18 to study at New York University. Ashley told i-D in 2021, “We were 18 years old and I think what we did know was that we wanted to take that time to take a break from what we were previously doing and to explore things that interested us, and explore what life has to offer…”
They launched The Row in 2006. After years of headlines, paparazzi, and little privacy, the twins live a discreet life and are strategic about everything they do. In Mary-Kate’s words, they are “discreet people – that’s how we were raised.”
Mary-Kate also described themselves as “perfectionists.” “I think we’re very much perfectionists. We’re hard workers, and we’ve always been hard workers. I’m happy that people look at it as a perfect product or products that feel complete, or whole.”
“I think the reason we do fashion is to constantly try to fix our imperfections. And you have next season to do that. But it’s also our job to find every imperfection in there to make sure that we’re constantly pushing ourselves and training our eyes and making sure everyone is served. Just evolving and learning," she explained.
What the Olsen twins have been up to lately
Outside of their work at The Row, Mary-Kate and Ashley continue to live mostly under the radar. Ashley quietly welcomed her first child with artist Louis Eisner in 2023, a baby boy named Otto, and the couple has kept their family life extremely private.
As for Mary-Kate, she finalized her divorce from Olivier Sarkozy in 2021 and has been focused on her work, spending most of her time in New York. She sparked rumors with retired NHL player Sean Avery in 2024, who shut down speculation earlier this year in August, “We've been friends for 20 years. That's a long-term relationship. We were, like, kids in New York growing up together.”