In the flesh, Made in Chelsea’s Rosie Fortescue is quite stunning. In fact, all eyes would be on her, if they weren’t simultaneously drawn to her, (equally gorgeous but very different), sister, Lily. The talented twins visited Brown Thomas last week to talk Cheek Frills, the lingerie line that Lily designs, and that both sisters front a new campaign for. We headed to the landmark Dublin store for a cup of tea and a chat with the sisters and discovered that they’re fiercely ambitious, incredibly loyal towards one another, and really, quite lovely.   _______________________ Sisters can be your best mates, and your worst enemies – this is very much a collaborative project, have you always gotten on? R: We’ve always gotten on really well. I think, as twins, everyone thinks that you’re super, super close, but I think it’s a good thing that we’re not too joined, we have our own things going on. We’re independent, but we love living together. L: I don’t call her eight times a day needing an opinion on everything. We are twins, who get on extremely well, but we have our own lives. We’ve always been different, which is so nice.   Was design always the plan for you Lily? L: No, I kind of slipped into it, and once I did I just loved it. You don't plan these things. I was selling, that’s how the opportunity came up. From then, it was second nature to me. I never went to St. Martin’s or anything like that. For underwear, I don't think you need to. You just need a really good idea, good stockists and a good team.   It’s a big step to go from concept to shelves though…  L: My job was to improve something that was already there though. It needed a lot of work, but I needed to hit press, reshape the brand and create products that would really be talked about. Getting that recognition, that’s the hardest thing – but once you begin to get it it’s so exciting to build from there.   Why cotton? Usually a celeb endorsment comes with 'sexy' products, lots of satin and silk and the likes. L: Our products are made from modal, which is 95% cotton, 5% elastane. This gives you a really good fit, and it also means that when you wash it, it keeps its shape really well. It lasts. We use a material we found in Italy, it’s the most expensive modal you can get and you can tell that from feeling it. People come in and buy one, because they don’t want to commit to the set and the spend, then come in the next day and buy more. It’s such an easy sell, that’s what comes with a quality product.   Was it always the plan for both of you front the campaign? L: It was actually a member of the team who works in PR who suggested it would be lovely to have both of us, as twins, together. Me, because I do it and this is my job, Rosie because she’s the face that people will recognise. R: It gives it more of a story. The dimension is more interesting. I wouldn’t have done it otherwise. It was nice to do it together. And, it wasn’t ‘sexy’ legs open kind of shoot, it was fun and flirty and cute.   That seems to sum up the product too - it's not designed for men, shall we say...  R: It is very much for women, but guys love them as well. L: I’ve had so many friends say my boyfriend prefers them to anything else I’ve worn. You’ve got the lace, the colour and the shape. This was trial and error. We’d sold Cheek Frills under a different name for four years prior to giving it a facelift. Prior to realizing we needed to give it better colours, a new name, a direction. We’re outselling everything. People love it. And it's such a thrill to see the products on the shop floors. Brown Thomas, from what I’ve seen of all our stockists, they are the poster department store for how to merchandise. They’ve really used their imagination, they have such an innate understanding, as a store, of how to really sell a product. Visual merchandising is the most important thing. Having sold so well to begin with, they’ve now been able to expand what they’re buying in from Cheek Frills because they know it sells. They’ve got everything upstairs and it looks amazing, we were so happy to see it!   Which collection has been most popular so far? L: The fashion jet set! But we’re very flexible, so if the likes of Brown Thomas came to us and said they wanted a certain amount saying whatever, we could do that.   So we could see a Dublin/Cork/Limerick/Galway range? L: Absolutely! It's nice, everyone can put their own stamp on it. We’re able to listen to our big stockists and give them something they’ll love.   How hands on are you? L: Everything. I do the selling, the wholesale, the graphic design, all the trade shows. I do everything. I’m unbelievably hands on. It’s two of us that do everything between us. It’s amazing, it’s daunting, and it’s great experience.   You’re so young. What’s next? L: I want to stick with Cheek Frills and continue getting it into the best department stores in the world. The big American stores wait three seasons to really look at you, so we’re working on that now. Just world domination, no big deal.   Through MIC, people will assume your family is well-off. Do you feel pressure to make your own money and achieve your own business success? L: I don't feel pressure from anyone but myself. R: If you work to impress someone else you’ll fail. It has to be to match your own goals and expectations. I knew from a young age that I didn’t want to work for anyone else. I’m so meticulous and organised, and I really wanted to get stuck in after I did my degree. It was so hard to find internships where you were actually learning something, not just doing errands. I just thought then, that’s it, I’m going to be working for myself, because at least then I’d be working really hard towards something, not just reorganizing filing cupboards. We’re both very driven, we want to go to the top quicker and that’s worth the risk of doing things in a different way.   Is this the beginning of a series of twin collaborations? L: Never rule anything out. Rosie’s really busy, I’m really busy, but we love working together. I think we both bring something very different to the table, we have very different qualities. For this moment, right now, there just isn't the time, but we could be sitting down to dinner together one day and just thing of something great, and we’ll go and do it.   Rosie, what are your plans for the near future? R: I start filming for the new series of Made in Chelsea tomorrow, but I also have some collaborations coming out. I’ve designed some iPad and iPhone cases coming out in September, which is so exciting. I’ve just finalised all of the samples. I’ve been working on it for so long so that’s so exciting! I’m also working on a collaboration with a jewellery designer, I’m wearing some of her rings, Laura Gravestock, she’s amazing. I’m jewellery obsessed, so that’s exciting for me. I’m slightly quieter as well, so I like to express myself through my clothes and my jewellery.   You're now returning to Made in Chelsea, and we've seen your highs and lows onscreen for the last few years... R: The highs have far outweighed the lows. I would never keep doing it if I didn't enjoy it, and it is great publicity for what we’re all doing, so we have to be so grateful for that. The opportunities that show has given us… No way could I have started up a fashion blog two years ago and suddenly be collaborating with designers and I am so fortunate. You have to keep reminding yourself of that. Besides, the show is so much fun and I’m filming with all my friends, I haven't seen quite a few people for a few weeks now so tomorrow will be really great fun.   Occasionally you seem to be assigned the 'baddie role', does it ever upset you? R: To be honest, I don’t care so much about what random people think. Obviously I care about my reputation, but at the end of the day I know that I’m not a ‘slut’, or a tart or this, that and the other. My family know me, my friends know me, and often people who meet me will be like, "Oh I thought that you would be this aloof figure but actually you’re sweet, and personable and you have manners". That’s important to me, to meet those people. The viewers only know what happens on screen, but any bad stuff just makes me stronger, and the good outweighs the bad. You have to laugh sometimes, and not take any notice. If I wanted to change who I am, I would have. I won’t change for anyone else. I say this all the time, no matter how many times someone on Twitter will tell me I’m pale, it’s so obvious, I love it! If I wanted to not be pale, there is a very easy solution! The other side of that is people will reach out to me on my blog and ask me where to get make up for pale skin, or for advice, and it’s nice when people appreciate you for being genuine to who you are.   Will you ever do a reality TV show together?  L: I would never. I so respect Rosie for it, but I would never consider it. It’s just not my bag, you know. I’m the kind of person who wouldn’t want to be filmed, wouldn’t put my life on camera, and I couldn’t make sure I was muzzled all the time! R: It’s nice to have our own things too. We live together, we’ve grown up together, we’ve been to school together all our lives, so it is nice to do something different rather than always doing the same thing. We’ve never had any competition in our lives either, so I think if we were on the show it would be a Rosie vs. Lily thing, and that would be so bad for our relationship. We’re so close, we wouldn’t want to do anything that would damage that anyway. Cheek Frills lingerie is available exclusively at Brown Thomas Dublin and Brown Thomas Cork