The Olsen Twins rarely smile for the cameras. There's a theory why they've suddenly started.

This article has been republished with permission from Tamara Davis Holland's Substack, Fash Chat.

Of all the famous people you might expect to get dinner together, Mary-Kate Olsen and Kendall Jenner were not on the list.

On October 22, the duo were seen dining at celebrity hotspot Sushi Park in Los Angeles.

The unassuming restaurant in West Hollywood has become the go-to place for the paparazzi to catch a glimpse of A-listers as they depart their low-key sashimi dates. Hailey Bieber and Zoë Kravitz. Beyoncé and Jay-Z. Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.

But an Olsen twin? That was new. And for once, Mary-Kate wasn't shielding herself with a giant handbag.

This was two weeks ago now, and it was the first of two curious Olsen sightings in as many weeks.

On November 3, Mary-Kate and sister Ashley made a public showing together at the CFDA Awards, where their luxury fashion brand The Row was honoured with the American Accessory Designer of the Year award.

As they took to the stage to give a short speech and posed for photos, they smiled for the cameras and looked uncharacteristically happy to be there.

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Anyone who knows their Olsen twin lore knows smiles are not exactly in their repertoire. The duo keeps such a low profile in New York that spotting them on the streets is akin to seeing some kind of rare endangered animal in the wild.

The appearance made global headlines, with clips of the pair in their matching black tuxedo jackets going instantly viral.

It was at this point, as the photos popped up across news outlets and the outfits were dissected and the internet feasted on a tiny tidbit of the elusive twins, that the cogs started to turn for me.

I believe a PR strategy is playing out before our eyes.

The luxury fashion brand founded by the Olsen sisters, The Row, is in damage control.

Before we get into the details, it's worth sharing a bit of background on what the brand stands to lose.

The Row is estimated to be worth around $1 billion USD, with the valuation set at that eye-watering number after investors, including Francoise Bettencourt of L'Oreal, and the Wertheimer family, who own Chanel, bought a stake in the company in 2024.

According to fashion ranking system The Lyst Index, it's the 6th most influential brand in the world, and is on track to become one of America's leading luxury houses.

If the Quiet Luxury movement can be epitomised by one label, one aesthetic, it's The Row.

At the runway shows, guests are asked to check their phones at the door. The only glimpses shared of the collections are on Vogue.com, where the photography vaguely alludes to what's actually being shown — the last collection was captured entirely in black-and-white, with an editorial lens that makes it hard to actually see the clothes, let alone make notes on them. Share them. Pass commentary on them.

The Row takes a very different approach to other fashion houses, from smaller players to luxury leaders, where runway shows serve as the ultimate vehicle for promotion.

Celebrity-packed front rows help propel their brands into the public consciousness, while earned media from influencers and editors is part and parcel of them being there.

But it's an obsession with discretion that's set the Olsens' venture apart. A defiance of the social media machine and a refusal to bow to convention — the brand and its designers as closely guarded as the crown jewels (though maybe not the ones in The Louvre).

It's not just the image that's gatekept, but the product itself, with a pricing structure that establishes The Row among the most expensive high-end labels in the world.

A 12 thousand dollar cashmere coat. A $1200 pair of rubber thongs. Unlike other brands that welcome fans into their world to create a sense of community, it's the lack of accessibility that makes The Row so covetable, with that access granted only to a rarified few.

Which brings us back to the situation unfolding in the past few weeks.

It all started when one outspoken content creator dared to shed light on what the brand might really be like behind closed doors.

Writer and reviewer Neelam Ahooja was what you would call a The Row superfan. On her popular Instagram account, which boasts over 200,000 followers, she anointed herself as something of an unofficial brand ambassador — an avid collector of The Row's designs, and a mouthpiece for a label that prefers not to speak.

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For the past five years, Ahooja has been invited to runway shows and showroom appointments, and given insider access to sample sales and VIP events, all for the price of coverage on her channels.

But as of late, the relationship between the brand and its proudest, loudest ambassador has turned sour. And one damning piece of content threatens to unravel The Row's reputation entirely.

On October 27, Ahooja addressed a public message to The Row via her Substack newsletter, Neelam Noted.

The piece, titled "Open Letter to The Row: We need to break up," is written like a note from a heartbroken lover to a partner whose transgressions have forced them to re-evaluate the relationship.

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"Five years ago, I was just a girl on a bench in her room, talking into a mic. Then you arrived, all quiet luxury and runway invitations, and it felt like love at first sight," she shared.

"You courted me, welcomed me into your showroom, made a fuss over me in-store… But our honeymoon, dazzling as it was, didn't last long, as the red flags appeared early."

Ahooja then expands on The Row's "red flags", particularly its efforts to manipulate her content and police her posts.

While she holds back on sharing the exact details and players involved, the message is clear: The Row has a tightly controlled image, and will do what it needs to do to maintain it.

"You tried to control me, to dictate my work, to downplay what I'd built, and all the while, you profited from my efforts," she writes.

"But the hardest part was that you became increasingly (and unforgivably) rude. Your charm was beguiling and performative. A supple, leather-gloved kind of control."

Ahooja admits she challenged the brand on their tactics, just once, and they did soften their approach. But not for her benefit.

As she puts it, any apologies offered by The Row's team were "a calculated effort to buy my silence."

And then she makes it very clear she's had enough, and that any content she makes about The Row from this point on will be on her terms.

"The days of you trying to muzzle me in public or private are officially over."

Phew.

As far as break-up messages go, this one should be studied. It's the kind of eloquent expose that says everything it needs to without getting nasty.

After receiving an outpouring of comments in support of her letter, Ahooja shared a follow-up post on Substack, sent out to her subscriber base behind a paywall: "The story behind the open letter."

I am not a paid subscriber, but I can imagine whatever details she included in the backstory are not good news for The Row.

For years, the brand has been on such a pedestal that it's become untouchable. Minor controversies have never amounted to much. When their bestselling red jelly sandals started breaking at the seams and TikTokkers took them to task, The Row offered no apologies. No recalls.

They doubled down on rubber footwear with those $1200 thongs, which still sold out multiple times and rose to the number one spot on The Lyst Index's rank of this season's hottest items.

The Row's famed New York sample sale has attracted its share of criticism, but mostly that's about the the line sitters paid to camp outside the warehouse overnight. I guess people will do what they have to do to get 75 per cent off a Margaux bag.

But Ahooja felt the need to speak out and share her truth. And there's a reason her letter reads like a rumination on a toxic relationship.

Because that's the key word here: relationship.

In a social media landscape where ordinary people can form parasocial connections with not just individuals in the public eye, but brands themselves, it is personal.

As community members, we're invested in brands and want to be part of their decision making. To help inform their choices and provide feedback. It's no longer a request, but an expectation. It's the price of loyalty.

Ahooja's situation asks the question: What does a brand really owe its customers in return?

Kendall Jenner gets a private audience with Mary-Kate, but The Row's most loyal disciple gets… coercive emails.

We will likely never know if Kendall shops for The Row herself by appointment, if her stylist Dani Michelle pulls all the looks for her, or if suit bags of the latest collection arrive on her doorstep every season with no obligations and no money exchanged.

However, she obtains the goods, it has to be said that the model is one of the brand's most consistent celebrity fans. Whether they're organic or not, her endorsements have helped bring The Row to the mainstream.

Kendall Jenner wears The Row, styled by Dani Michelle. Images: Instagram/@danixmichelle.

There are rumours that she has wanted to model for the label for years… so perhaps the meeting was about that.

But I also believe it was a tactical effort to earn favour with the public. To be seen. There has to be a reason that one of the most photographed women in the world sat down with a woman who goes to great lengths to avoid being photographed.

It does feel calculated.

Ahooja made another interesting point in her letter, about the hypocrisy of The Row's strategy and the irony of the optics at play.

"You don't crave quiet," she wrote.

"If you did, you wouldn't court the journalists, the Jenner... You want the noise, but only when it's echoed by your chosen few. It's the same tired theatre of class, elitism, and exclusion."

Is this the image The Row wants to cultivate? If so, we need to ask ourselves if it's something we want to buy into.

Feature image: Getty.

For more from Tamara Davis Holland, read her articles here or subscribe to her Substack newsletter, Fash Chat.