A Closer Look at Their Messy Hair

Talking about Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen‘s hair evolution is like unraveling a tangled web of aesthetics. Between bouts of boho waves and snarled ends, and periods of matted-down, muddy blond, the twin fashion designers — who rose to prominence playing Michelle in the popular sitcom, “Full House” — have tested the waters of almost every natural hair color and intentionally disheveled style out there, inciting trends without even trying.

In honor of their 40th birthday on Saturday, WWD is taking a look back at their most notable looks over the last two decades.

As pioneers of the “indie sleaze” movement, Ashley and Mary-Kate garnered a “messy girl” reputation early on. Not in the pejorative, party girl sense, but in a cool, chaotically chic way. The two were often seen with what appeared to be unwashed, exposed roots that fluttered into beach waves down their backs. In the early 2000s, especially, Ashley favored haphazard updos, with layers falling from the sides, as seen at the spring 2005 Marc Jacobs show in New York. Mary-Kate, on the other hand, let her side bangs do their thing, while the rest of her auburn hair mingled around her.

Celebrity stylist Mark Townsend has famously crafted the sisters’ hair aesthetics long before they founded The Row in 2006. In 2008, both Ashley and Mary-Kate opted for the same bleached-blond, mid-length look, styled in a ratty texture as if they forgot to comb their hair that morning. An example of this is their hair at the Chanel fall 2008 runway show in Paris, where Mary-Kate added volume by pulling half of her dyed ends behind a tweed headband.

By 2015, both sisters had subdued their texture, rocking depleted waves in place. They also had switched their platinum coloring to a melting pot of honey-blond, caramel and brunette tones, while keeping the same “no-sweat” presentation. The CFDA Fashion Awards that year saw Ashley and Mary-Kate take home the award for Womenswear Designer of the Year, further epitomizing their minimalist brand with relaxed hair.

Their penchant for straight, snarled hair continued well into the late 2010s, though the coloring didn’t stay the same. With Mary-Kate holding up the brunette side of the bargain, Ashley reverted to her blond era, covering her dark roots as best she could. At the same time, her inner bohemian broke through again at the 2018 Met Gala, celebrating “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.” Here, she topped her ensemble with a silver pendant belt fastened around the back of her head.

In the last two years, the twins have inadvertently recharged the fandom around their messy aesthetic with what’s now been dubbed “the Olsen tuck.” The style, achieved by loosely trapping the hair under a high-neck top or jacket collar, may be going viral now, but the codesigners have been modeling the tuck since they shot to stardom. Images from 2004 show the sisters hiding their low ponytails under buttoned jackets and fur collars; the tops of their heads teased. Ashley even donned the undone style on the Met Gala red carpet in 2017, tucking her blond ends under a dull green collar.

Phoebe Philo, a known proponent of “the Olsen tuck,” famously brought the anti-glamour aesthetic to the high-fashion world when she took a bow after her fall 2011 collection for Céline with her hair pulled halfway out of her turtleneck. More recently, Madonna was spotted with half of her stark blond hair thrown under her leather jacket at the Saint Laurent spring 2026 show outside the Eiffel Tower.

See here for a glance at Ashley’s and Mary-Kate’s style through the years.