‘Full House’ Icons Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen Step out for Rare Public Appearance

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen made a rare public appearance. And of course, it was for the love of fashion.

The famous twins accepted the American Accessory Designer of the Year award at the 2025 CFDA Fashion Awards in New York City Nov. 3 for their popular brand, The Row. The brand was established  in 2005 by the actresses and are known for their timeless ready-to-wear, handbags, clothes and accessories. 

“OUR GIRLSSSS 🖤🖤 It’s not often that we are blessed by a public appearance from Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, but if it’s going to happen anywhere, it’s at the @cfda awards,” a post reads from The Cut on Instagram. 

“To our individual buyers, you have been our guiding light for the past 20 years now,” Mary-Kate said onstage as Ashley held the award with pride. “To our amazing customers who truly give us the opportunity to do what we love, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you.”

They also gave their fans major props. “Without your support, we would not be here today,” Mary-Kate added. “Thank you for giving us the love and kindness that allows us to show up to work each day.”

The twins have taken a recluse approach to fame, often remaining out of the spotlight, instead to focus on building their brand. Their most recent appearance prior to the CFDA Fashion Awards occurred during New York Fashion Week in September.

While there, they attended the W Magazine‘s cocktail party. The duo added a fun pop of color to their subtle looks with bold, patterned scarves. They’ve long spoken about their love of fashion, saying it was a natural transition from acting. They even had a clothing line when they were kids, sold at stores like K-Mart and beyond.

“I don’t know how conscious we were of what we were doing at that time, to be really honest,” Ashley told  I-D in 2021. “We had just moved to New York. 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.”

But they weren’t interested in being the face of their brand. “We didn’t want to be in front of it, we didn’t necessarily even want to let people know it was us,” she admitted. “It was really about the product, to the point where we were like: Who could we get to front this so that we don’t have to?”