Fresh off news that the owners of Chanel and L’Oréal, alongside Natalie Massenet and Nick Brown’s Imaginary Ventures, had invested in The Row, giving it a $1 billion valuation, last week’s quiet little show on Rue des Capucines didn’t seem so little anymore.
“I have known them a long time so it made sense,” Massenet said, admiring the Rococo frescoes on the ceiling of the 18th-century mansion. “If they can build a luxury brand out of the U.S. it will be a feat and they are on their way.”
Per the new normal, Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen had a no-photos, no-social media policy, same as they had for the press days for their new Paris flagship now open on Mont Thabor. It is worth a stop alone to see the custom rattan window blinds with black-and-gold ribbon trim designed by Lilou Marquand. A longtime associate of Coco Chanel, the Left Bank interior designer is a favorite of the sisters, Diane Von Furstenberg, John Galliano, Lauren Santo Domingo and others.
And it’s fitting that these exquisite privacy shields would be elemental to the design of a store for The Row, a brand built around discretion, after its founders spent all of their young lives under the media microscope as child stars. From “Full House” to arbiters of taste for one of the first American luxury houses that could stand on its own against European competitors in decades, what a feat indeed.
On the runway for spring 2025, the Olsens took a left turn from the formal historicism of their last runway collection to focus on studied slouch wear and sportswear.
Fashion designers have long fetishized the T-shirt, and much discussion will be had about The Row’s contribution to the conversation this season. The pilled gray short-sleeve one-pocket shirt, layered over a nubby white long-sleeve T-shirt, chestnut-colored cotton pants and glove-soft ballet shoes, was pretty close to perfectly imperfect with the drape and texture of a life well-lived.
Shirting, in fact, was a throughline, with crisp white cotton cut to fit under a cozy black tunic or black T-shirt dress, both with rolled cuffs. Dressing up was all about the ease of a strapless black jersey dress with a simple sash, a black column with a twisted crystal necklace collar, or maybe just a black bateau neck cocoon top with black cotton pants and next summer’s must-have black rubber slide.
A couple of looks veered into sculptural, Japanese design-influenced territory, but this was mostly about an uncomplicated American approach to dressing in black, white and gray. to unclutter the mind and the wardrobe while still being chic.
After just 27 exits, heads swiveled to see if that was all there was. But that was the point. It was all you need.
