tv tweens to daring designers...

Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen are launching men’s wear under their label The Row — a fitting development, perhaps, for a collection named after Savile Row that frequently takes inspiration from the fabrics and tailoring traditions of men’s wear.The stealthy global expansion of The Row has surprised the fashion world with its subtle chic and avoidance of the typical celebrity-designer business.Also jumping on the design band wagon is Hilary Duff.As DKNY Jeans’ latest celebrity design collaborator, Hilary Duff is determined to prove her days starring as Lizzie Maguire are long gone.The 21-year-old actress-singer-designer showed up early for her 11 a.m. meeting at the DKNY Jeans showroom at 240 West 40th St. to discuss her new brand, which she’s calling Femme for DKNY Jeans. She’d just flown in from Los Angeles, and there were no publicists, managers or entourage in tow. She was staying at her friend’s Manhattan apartment, wheeling two suitcases behind her.“One of the hardest things is to come up with a name,” said Duff of her new line, which she was wearing: a gray fringe T-shirt, leggings and a vest. “But I think Femme works really well and explains the line perfectly as feminine but tough all at the same time. It’s aggressive, but in a good way.”http://www.wwd.com/menswear-news/olsens-launch-mens-wear-1966661?src=nl/mornReport/20090205http://www.wwd.com/markets-news/hilary-duff-to-launch-femme-for-dkny-jeans-1966630?src=nl/mornReport/20090205WWD Morning Report