Rewind back to Paris Fashion Week in March when The Row radically requested that guests refrain from using their phones during the show. And how this confirmed the brand’s hold over everyone, the request respected.
Whether out of residual observance or simply owing to the tedium of tapping, I arrived at The Row’s Paris headquarters for our morning appointment with a notebook and pen, taking a few photos for reference only when the team welcomed me to do so. My penmanship not being what it used to be, “a meditation on casual wear” and “wardrobing in an elevated way” were among the notes that appear legible. But it hardly matters what was written down, as the collections were entirely memorable, impeccably nonchalant as ever. They also came with a few surprises—uncharted territory, even.
Similar to previous visits, the first salon featured the greatest number of mannequins wearing Row-ified transformations of classic and/or basic clothes that express different stylistic whims. How I fought the temptation to recline into the 1960s rattan daybed so that my eye could wander across the reworkings of a standard blue workwear jacket, a bookish vest, and a sleeveless tartan sheath held up by two shoulder ribbons. After those pieces, it would have landed on the unfettered layering of an oversized jumper, tiered lace lingerie dress, and slouchy jeans, or else the vibrant red and blue checked cotton linen (as opposed to flannel) loosely draped as a skirt and paired with a pale yellow polo. Further on were evening silhouettes—one a cascade of metal embroidery, another embedded with sculptural rings around the neck and upper arms—that will epitomize elegance circa 2025.
The studio puts effort into iterating its tailoring, all-season leather pieces, and covetable bags (Marlowe, with its rounded outlines, launches as an offshoot of the phenom that is Margaux); the men’s range is as well-developed as the women’s. Yet the patterned pieces and color accents, random bits of craft, and leveled-up foam flip-flops also seem noteworthy since they deviate from how we perceive the brand. With its 20th year on the horizon, perhaps The Row is taking itself less seriously, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen taking a chill view towards fashion. Here, in this non-runway ambiance, where an eclectic mosaic coffee table and cowhide Adnet chairs are among the pieces selected from prestigious Parisian galleries, while Grateful Dead and Bob Marley play at noticeable volume, signs point to a kind of grown-up grunge beyond the realm of quiet luxury.
The just-opened shop in Amagansett will certainly benefit from a high concentration of eager customers. Given The Row’s commitment to Paris with its showroom and studio, one can only hope a store might emerge in time to purchase the hybrid boots in mesh and leather; the To Go tote (a compact leather book bag); or any of the coats in washed or vintage cotton. The ultimate fantasy would be the entire wardrobe, an outfit per day. First up, the simple black top and gauzy white pants, s’il vous plait.
