Influence

Photo: TV Spread It

Earlier this week, I was in the book store, like a junkie, desperate to buy the next installment of the Twilight series (I'm totally addicted now, thanks Amy!) While I was there, I also picked up the new, glossy coffee table book by Mary- Kate and Ashley Olsen called Influence . The tiny twin tycoons have put together a book about the most interesting, challenging, creative people they know - the ones who have helped pave the way for them and their generation. Criticize them if you want, but these two girls have been embraced as fashion icons by designers as aggressively urbane and sophisticated as Chanel's Karl Lagerfeld, Calvin Klein's Francisco Costa and Christian Dior's John Galliano.


Their book is composed of interviews the twins conducted with people they admire such as Lagerfeld, Galliano and Diane von Furstenberg, photographers Peter Beard and Terry Richardson, and writer Bob Colacello.

One of the most interesting interviews in the book is with Colacello, who was editor of Interview magazine during its Andy Warhol heyday. Colacello gives the girls much more than their questions alone would elicit. And at one point, he muses about fame and celebrity and how both have become confused with infamy. It's a topic that gets at the heart of the public Olsens.

The book also includes exclusive photographs of Ashley and Mary-Kate from world renowned photographer Rankin, and a wide variety of other never-before-seen materials and interviews from Mary-Kate and Ashley's personal collections. I have quite enjoyed the book, myself.

Naturally, the girls have been doing the talk show circuit over the last few weeks to promote Influence. Tashina recently posted a clip of Mary-Kate on The Conan O'Brien Show, which is worth checking out. You can watch it here. You can also take a look at a clip of their recent appearance on Oprah's show below.