'I love playing dress up' Mary-Kate tells ELLE this month. 'I get inspired by old films, weird things. It could just be the person sitting across from me or it could be a full Victorian costume, ' she reveals, giving us an insight in to where she gets the inspiration for her unique blend of granny-chic meets couture bag lady style. A look that has made her just as famous as her acting career has, if not more so.
'What I find odd though is that a weekly [magazine] will come out describing my outfit as a fashion disaster, while the fashion industry actually respects what I wear,' Mary-Kate tells us. And the industry certainly does love what she wears. 'With her you already know future generations will look at her as an icon', says Margherita Missoni, while Karl Largerfeld is also a big fan of her look. ' I like the way Mary-Kate is mixing Chanel with other things, life is not a fashion show, and I find a total designer look boring'.
With fashion credentials like these it's no wonder she has teamed up with twin sister Ashley to create two fashion labels, The Row and Elizabeth and James - named after their younger siblings. They are both heavily involved in the design process at their companies, but, 'I think more of my energy goes in to Elizabeth and James' says Mary-Kate, about the collection, that has just gone on sale in Selfridges and at net-a-porter.com in the U.K. The Row is 'Ashley's baby' she says.
She counts Edie Sedgwick and Brigitte Bardot among her style icons but says in truth, she says, when it comes to trying something new 'I'm up for anything.' Which is maybe why she and Ashley have also made their first foray in to writing this year with their upcoming book Influence - for which they interviewed 22 people from the fashion industry who inspire them, including Christian Louboutin and John Galliano.
It seems like a lot of work for the diminutive star, but she thrives on it. 'I have so much more respect for fashion designers now because it's hard work and never ending. It's not a movie. You can't wrap it and go start something else.' she says.
And it looks like she's gaining all of that respect now too.
No comments:
Post a Comment