Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s Former Stylist Reveals the Designers That Defined Their Style
Judy Swartz introduced the Olsen twins to Miu Miu, Dolce & Gabbana, and Chanel, to name a few.
Today, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are award-winning fashion designers responsible for two brands, The Row and Elizabeth & James. But before they from their matchy-matchy Full House days to their current status as style icons, there was one woman responsible for their wardrobes: Judy Swartz.
When they started working with Schwartz, the Olsen twins were in the midst of pumping out their string of straight-to-VHS successes (Billboard Dad, Passport to Paris, Winning London, and the like) as well as dipping their toes into fashion for the first time with their Walmart clothing line—and Swartz had a heavy hand in it all. “Anything that had to do with fashion, I was working on,” she revealed to Refinery 29{: rel=nofollow}.
As such, Swartz had a significant role in helping the coordination-loving Olsen twins define and hone their style. While other tweens their age were shopping at Limited Too and Abercrombie & Fitch, the Olsen twins were wearing looks inspired by high-fashion designers and famous artists. “I would emulate high-end designers: I’d look at a couple of Miu Miu pieces and a few from Dolce & Gabbana; one collection might have been Chanel-inspired,” Swartz said of her inspiration in dressing and designing for the girls.
No One Does #Twinning Better than Mary-Kate and Ashley
Though they’ll never wear the same thing, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen always coordinate. At the 2004 VMA Party, the girls donned long, slip-like dresses and easy breezy flip flops.
For the 2005 Met Costume Institute Gala, it was all about lace. Photo by Peter Kramer/Getty Images.
Light neutral tones were everything at a Ron Herman trunk show later that year.
In 2007, the twins hit Paris Fashion Week with a suitcase full of black. Photo by Lorenzo Santini/WireImage.
And kept things simple for the CFDAs. Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage.
And mixed tons of black layers with—their signature—big black sunnies.
Metal-rimmed shades were all the rage at the Metropolitan Opera Gala in 2011.
Though they branched out for the 2011 CFDAs, they both carried coordinating bags from their line, The Row.
It was back to black for the awards in 2014, with the girls sporting long black robes and crisscrossed sandals. Photo by Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic.
Big, bold, black—while the twins didn’t exactly match at the 2015 Met Gala, you got the idea all the same. Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage.
The same principle carried over to styling their various straight-to-video films. “Holiday in the Sun was very summery with a beach vibe, so I used pieces from Pucci and Calypso,” Swartz recalled. Others, like Our Lips Are Sealed, featured pieces inspired by artists such as Piet Mondrian.
Once the Olsens were older, they developed their own favorite designers and brands to turn to. “You know what we used to love? Earl Jeans,” Swartz says. “And then, when Earl Jeans made leather pants, I bought those and cut them down. We also used a lot of Theory. I bought lots of Prada, Miu Miu, and some Gucci, too.”
Although Swartz hasn’t worked with the Olsens in some time, she’s claiming credit for one of their current signature looks: layering. “Well, the layers came from me. It’s how I dress,” she said. “I’m not surprised that layering moved forward with [Mary-Kate and Ashley’s] aesthetics, because it was such a big part of their style growing up.”
Related: Getting candid with fashion’s top designers:
33 Years of Coordination Starring Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen in West Hollywood, California, September 1994. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen in New York, New York, January 1993. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen in West Hollywood, California, July 2001. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Los Angeles, California, March 2002. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen at the premiere of Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle in Hollywood, California, June 2003. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen in Los Angeles, California, May 2004. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen at the 12th annual amfAR Gala in Cannes, France, May 2005. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen at the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards in New York, New York, November 2006. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen front-row at Jenni Kayne during New York Fashion Week Fall 2007. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen at the CFDA Fashion Awards in New York, New York, June 2007. Photo by Getty Images. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, both in Diane Von Furstenberg, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala for “Superheros: Fashion and Fantasy” in New York, New York, May 2008. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Mary-Kate, in Lanvin, and Ashley Olsen, in Christian Lacroix, at the Elle Style Awards in London, England, February 2010. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen at the Metropolitan Opera premiere in New York, New York, March 2011. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala for “Charles James: Beyond Fashion” in New York, New York, May 2014. Photo by Getty Images. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen in The Row at the “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology” Costume Institute Exhibition Gala in New York, New York, May 2016. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen with Elizabeth Olsen, all in The Row, at the CFDA Fashion Awards in New York, New York, June 2016. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen arrive at “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art Of The In-Between” Costume Institute Gala at The Metropolitan Museum on May 1, 2017 in New York City. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Ashley Olsen and Mary-Kate Olsen attend the Studio in a School 40th Anniversary Gala at Seagram Building Plaza on May 3, 2017 in New York City. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen attend the Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & The Catholic Imagination Costume Institute Gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 7, 2018 in New York City. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Ashley Olsen and Mary-Kate attend WSJ Magazine 2018 Innovator Awards Sponsored By Harry Winston, FlexJet & Barneys New York at MOMA on November 7, 2018 in New York City. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen attend The 2019 Met Gala Celebrating Camp: Notes on Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 06, 2019 in New York City. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
