Studio 22 | Mary-Kate Olsen

Chapter Twelve

April 27th 2022 - New York City - Studio 22

Over the following weeks, I worked with Mary-Kate a lot more, she had me sit in on practically every one of the meetings she had, I was with her in the studio and we saw each other after Monday Morning meetings. She'd wave I'd smile and then we'd go our separate ways, it was standard for her to cross the street and me to continue walking down towards Studio 22. She'd turn up to the office with three coffees delivering the first to me before going to sit with her sister for their morning brief, they'd leave together to go out for a cigarette before coming back in again and collecting anything they needed from my desk. Typically at that point, I was instructed to go into Studio 2 where I'd be set a task of some sort, it could be anything from measuring models, putting together mood boards or hemming sample pieces. I was never alone in there; they'd be other interns and the Twins would be in and out throughout the duration of the morning task.

After lunch was when I'd be with Mary-K, I'd take her coffee into her as I came back from my lunch break and she'd be sat in her window smoking and once she was done she'd come and get me and we'd be back in Studio 2 or last week we were in the photography studio, it was new and exciting. I got to help choose what to pair together and I organised the design wall so it was clear for everyone what outfits were for which model. It sounds like a boring task but it was an important one, it was the wall of information needed to make the shoot run smoothly. The quicker the wall was up and in the right order the quicker the shoot was done and something else can be the focus for the afternoon. It was a business at the end of the day and time was expensive, things needed to be efficient.

I was picking up more on how the twins worked, and how they like things done. Mary-Kate liked to follow a plan, I knew that already, and I knew she got overwhelmed when things didn't go to plan. But I have since learnt that if Ashley isn't around to swiftly get things back on track she can't simply look past it. She believes it to be ruin which is a very drastic way of thinking if you ask me but I was learning she wasn't a straightforward type of person, she was bold, to say the least. Ashley was more spontaneous in terms of ideas and she typically runs out of her office shouting about some idea she had before retreating to a studio or an office and she'd be gone for a while. When she'd return she'd ask me what she said earlier, she was sensible but her memory was God awful. Like really bad. I have since learned to write her outbursts down on a post-it and I hold them out to her as she rushes past me or stick them to her door when I leave if she is still working. Some of the ideas weren't even to do with The Row, it could be what she wants for dinner or gift Ideas for some relatives. I still wrote them down.

Today was another Monday, Mondays were dreaded by most people. No one liked them and if we could the whole population would boycott Mondays. They seemed longer than any other day of the week, they were full of sighs and yawns not to mention a million complaints from everyone around you because it was a Monday and no one was in a particularly good mood. Mondays for me were emotionally draining, tedious and overall a Bitch. They were the longest day, having group in the morning followed by a full day of work and overtime thanks to my brother and his friends. Sage seemingly has his friends over every Monday, they're still immature pigs and therefore I avoid going home until they're ready to call it a night or they're too intoxicated to notice me walk past the lounge.

This Monday was sort of different, it was emotional yes, not in a bad way though. Today was the day I got to tell Frankie that he got funding for an apartment. He wouldn't be homeless anymore, he'd have a safe place to rest and recharge. Somewhere to call his own. Seeing someone so thankful was heartwarming. His smile somehow grew bigger and he held me so tight, that I held him back, sensing he needed that hug. When we pulled away he had tears in his eyes, he needed this, he deserved this more than anyone I knew. My mum was picking him up after group to take him to the apartment. I wanted to go but this week at work was busy. It is the week before the Spring-Summer collection drops, so it wasn't the appropriate time to be asking for time off work. I needed to be here. Mamì was with Frankie anyway, he'll be in good hands.