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The Row’s Protective, Artisanal Verve

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After days of cold rain and sheet-metal clouds–the kind that hang low yet light over Paris, like a veil–the sun broke through. At this hour, about noon, the fashion crowd was standing in the courtyard of 19 rue des Capucines, where The Row, the label run by Ashley and Mary Kate Olsen, has its French headquarters. They were waiting to see the twins’ latest collection (Winter 2024), and they were chatting about an email that had been sent out from the label’s PR earlier: there were to be no phones and no content creating (more on this shortly). The palest warmth filled the square as the flock shuffled inward, boding well for what was to come.

A great collection, though, is standard for the Olsens. Their course of excellently made, understated-chic and sometimes craft-forward wardrobing is highly consistent (and, in turn, consistently acclaimed).

 

Yet stood out in Winter 2024 – making it an especially great lineup – was something of a gently protective, artisanal verve. See, for example, a huge coat in white shag, belted with a knot and accented with tassels dipped in red ink. Or an oversized, ultra-round-shouldered almost A-line khaki jacket-dress. Or a lush bronze-hued ensemble of what looked to be fine cashmere, as if the model had fallen into a perfectly cut blanket. This element of supersized swaddling departed from their Fall 2024 offering, in which silhouettes skewed tighter.

 

There’s been a lot of media attention around The Row’s phone ban (I did see some attendees sneaking finale videos, but most followed the request). News outlets have called it the ultimate “quiet luxury” flex – I don’t know if the Olsens would agree. They have long been known for guarding their privacy and for their understated aesthetics – in fact, they kind of paved the way for it in modern American fashion. When you think of discreet and chic in the U.S., you think of The Row. Keeping the phones down was another way to emphasize this – and perhaps it was prescient, too, as so many talk about social media fatigue. It made for a heightened viewing experience, and the wait for the lookbook images, released days after the show, all the sweeter.