The Row’s 9 Breakout Shoes and Bags: The Olsen Sisters Who Reject Marketing
Following the Previous Post Toteme | 11 Breakthrough Items: From Blogger to Magazine, Fashion Brand Founder Elin Kling, Fashion Brand Analysis Series 2: The Row
When discussing Toteme, we must mention The Row. During the gap left by Phobe Phillo’s departure from the fashion industry, these two brands rapidly developed. The Row can be considered the upscale alternative to Toteme, with prices comparable to high-end brands like Burberry and Loewe. A plain white T-shirt costs 6,000 RMB,trousers 11,000 RMB, and a tote bag over 30,000 RMB, yet it still attracts many consumers.
Besides being promoted by influencers like Dong Jie on Xiaohongshu, international stars and bloggers like Jennifer Lawrence, Kendall Jenner, and Hailey Bieber have also embraced it. Domestic fashion buyer stores and channel distributors have early on included this brand in their collections.
For me, The Row was the first quiet luxury brand I came across. While browsing Lane Crawford, I passed by racks of clothes from brands like Maison Margiela, Kenzo, Moncler, and Celine, until I saw a rack with neatly arranged clothes in black and white, mostly made of wool rather than polyester or regular cotton, with very elite and crisp cuts. When I looked up at the brand name, it was The Row.
I then grabbed several pairs of pants to try on, including the very popular Gala pants from last year, but they were all too long. The styles that look good on models were completely unwearable for me, and petite people would definitely need to hem the pants. Even the wearable styles had slightly long hems, which can be worn until they get dirty and then cut off (I saw many domestic bloggers dragging their pant hems in photos, as some pants look better that way).
However, this didn’t stop me from being interested. While pants weren’t an option, some short sleeves and jackets were still suitable. As the most popular representative of quiet luxury, keeping an eye on their new clothes each year and learning some pairing techniques can be beneficial.
01
The Row is an American clothing brand founded by Ashley Olsen and Mary-Kate Olsen in 2006. It all started when Ashley decided to design the perfect white T-shirt, which led to the success of a series of white T-shirts. Now, The Row’s white T-shirts are imitated by many on Taobao and other international brands.
These twin sisters have been in the entertainment industry since they were less than a year old, playing Michelle Tanner in the American sitcom Full House, which aired from September 22, 1987, to May 23, 1995, for eight seasons and 192 episodes. The twins were born on June 13, 1986, and became national child stars in the United States.
Before they were 10 years old, they produced 16 music albums, starred in 44 direct-to-video films, and various fashion advertisements, earning approximately $500 million.
They also have a younger sister, Elizabeth Olsen, who plays the Scarlet Witch in The Avengers. Initially, due to her sisters’ fame, she went by the name Elizabeth Chase to make a name for herself in the acting world.
Their father is a real estate developer, and Elizabeth Olsen’s mother is a ballet dancer. Typically, such early fame comes from having some family resources.
After turning 18, Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen grew tired of the media and paparazzi, refusing interviews and show appearances. Eventually, they co-founded The Row in 2006. The brand’s name was inspired by London’s famous tailoring street, Savile Row, aiming to pursue high-quality fabrics, exquisite details, and meticulous tailoring.
“When we were younger, being in the public eye was almost part of our role and responsibility — to set the trends at that time or be ahead of fashion,” Mary-Kate explained to The Edit.
“We don’t dive into that world of social media,” Ashley added. “We don’t have Instagram or Facebook. We’ve stayed quite sheltered.”
In 2007, they established Elizabeth and James, named after their siblings Elizabeth Olsen and older brother James “Trent” Olsen. The brand’s concept was, “We wanted it to be based on a relationship between a young girl and a boy and tell the story through clothing.”
Compared to The Row, Elizabeth and James is less well-known and has fewer product updates. From 2007 to 2016, the brand’s license was held by Jaya Apparel Group. In 2016, the sisters regained ownership and released the 2016 pre-fall collection.
The 2017 spring/summer lookbook below shows a bit of The Row’s style.
Ashley Olsen was aware of her fashion influence as early as 2009.
“I think you’re either born with a sense of style or you’re not. Either you care or you don’t. And we love fashion. When we were going to NYU, I think that was the first time we were aware of the power of our personal style. Not the power of it, but the result of it. Between the big sunglasses and the Starbucks cup and the big sweaters, the hobo-chic thing, we were more shocked than anything.”
02
The Row was founded in 2006 and gained formal recognition in the fashion industry by 2009. In 2012 and 2015, the founders won numerous fashion design awards.
In the West, fashion brands created by celebrities are generally not taken seriously. However, in the last decade, many brands have been started by celebrities, whether they are stars or fashion bloggers with tens of thousands of followers. Brands like Toteme, founded by Swedish fashion blogger Elin Kling and Karl Lindman, and The Attico, founded by Italian bloggers Gilda Ambrosio and Giorgia Tordini, are examples.
In the summer of 2020, The Row faced a financial crisis, resulting in large-scale layoffs and plans to shut down its menswear line. Reports suggest The Row cut half of its workforce, reducing the team from 30 to 10–12 people.
After the bankruptcy of luxury department store Barneys in 2019, The Row became its second-largest creditor. Barneys was The Row’s biggest channel client, owing $3.7 million, even more than Barneys’ two landlords.
For a long time before the pandemic, The Row was the ultimate goal on the wish list of a niche group of loyal followers. The brand’s high prices were beyond many people’s comprehension, making it unattainable for most fans. The Row’s heavy reliance on channel distributors and lack of a robust e-commerce strategy led to its struggles during the 2020 pandemic crisis, similar to many niche designer brands.
Before the pandemic, The Row’s founders disliked the media, never engaging in collaborations or deliberate brand promotions. They kept a low profile, maintaining the brand’s rarity and distance. The brand’s official social media accounts remain relatively inactive, with most posts featuring art pieces. Instead, fan-created accounts like Maison The Row post The Row items, initially attracting more followers.
Even during the Paris Fashion Week in February 2024, The Row banned audience members from taking or sharing any content from its fashion show, which was seen as a response to this era of content saturation, allowing the audience to fully immerse themselves in the charm of the clothing. Another reason might be that this practical brand, with its lack of strong seasonal trends, doesn’t require extensive exposure each quarter.
However, in November of the same year, top fashion influencers like Kendall Jenner posted about The Row head-to-toe on their Instagram.
She never labels the brands she wears on social media unless it’s a close collaboration, like with Givenchy, whose creative director Matthew Williams considers her his muse and launched a handbag inspired by her. When it’s a commercial placement, Kendall Jenner often marks it as an ad as required by US advertising law.
It seems Kendall Jenner is particularly eager for people to know she wears The Row. She knows that without branding, only a few people can recognize the brand if she doesn’t label it or wear a full The Row outfit.
By 2022, The Row’s business improved thanks to these celebrities.
In 2023, The Row opened its first offline store in China at Chengdu SKP, its fourth store globally, after London, New York, and Los Angeles (with a second store recently opened in New York). Before The Row opened its first store in China, Chinese consumers could only purchase through luxury retailers like Lane Crawford, SKP Select, Joyce, and Net-A-Porter, both online and offline.
Thanks to international celebrities and promotions , The Row comes to recover from finance crisis in 2022
03
The clean and sharp silhouettes, well-placed waist cuts, and unique designs of The Row ensure that the main colors stay within black, white, cream, and gray, occasionally accented with bright hues. Wearing The Row automatically labels you as wealthy and stylish.
Although the brand’s premium pricing is indeed high, many consumers believe its value does not yet match historical luxury brands like Max Mara and Prada. However, many affluent individuals are still willing to pay for it.
Without having to worry about the price, this brand is versatile and practical, with many durable and foolproof designs. The brand’s earliest customers were high-net-worth individuals in New York who valued quality and practicality in their clothing.
Before The Row, the quiet luxury brands included Celine during Phobe’s tenure and Jil Sander when she was still designing. Jil Sander was famous for rolled pants, feather-light tops, and lightweight jackets. She eliminated all unnecessary details, with zippers and buttons entirely omitted.
Since the pandemic, the global economy has been in decline, leading the wealthy to seek a more understated and simple lifestyle, favoring high-quality, low-profile, logo-free fashion.
As high-net-worth individuals began to adopt low-key fashion, social media amplified this trend, leading ordinary consumers to follow the minimalist and quiet luxury fashion trend. This has resulted in the recent popularity of quiet luxury and old money styles over the past two years.
In articles like Noble Taste, 6 “Old Money” Top Brands: Lora Piana, Brunello Cucinelli, Kiton… and 14 Essential “Quiet Luxury” Brands for the Middle Class: Toteme, Joseph, Lemaire, The Row, Uma Wang…, I began to delve into the detailed product stories of these brands, which are the refined products of recent fashion trends.
04
Next, let’s talk about The Row’s most popular items. Overall, whether it’s pants, bags, or shoes, the price is $1000+.
Their most popular items are still the bags. From my fashion knowledge, bags have the highest profit margins and are the easiest to become breakout items. A single hit bag can sustain a brand, as seen with Gabriela Hearst, which initially gained fame through its bags, bringing attention to the brand and its clothing.
Most of The Row’s bags are relatively large, suitable for the brand’s current target group of wealthy and capable elite women. Below are some of the hottest bags from The Row that I’ve compiled.
However, some consumers have reported that the leather quality of The Row’s bags is a tier below luxury leather brands like Hermes and Loewe, particularly the pebbled leather and suede, which are somewhat lacking. Common horse leather and cowhide are better.
Their hit shoes include:
The Row’s Ginza sandal, priced at $900.
After the 90s, thong sandals fell out of fashion, but they began to revive around 2019. The Row’s Ginza sandal is often recommended in thong flip-flop lists.
The white straps are made of suede, while the black ones are regular cowhide, and the soles are rubber. They come in black and white, perfect for the beach in summer.
Below is Swedish model Elsa Hosk, who has 8 million followers on Instagram.
The fisherman sandal, priced at $1090.
Many brands have similar shoes, including H&M, Everlane, Dear Frances, COS, and UGG.
The Row offers these in ivory and black, made from calf leather.
These sandals are more casual and relaxed, without being too tight, perfect for someone like me who prefers comfort. I have a pair of Hoka One One creek shoes with a similar feel: chunky, wide shoes that don’t look great at first but grow on you over time.
Elastic ballet slipper, priced at $1211.
These slippers give a refined look when worn. Pair white with a white suit or black with black trousers for a polished outfit.
A similar style is the Ava leather Mary Jane shoes.
The most noticeable difference is the buckle instead of the elastic band on the ballet slipper.
The most popular winter boots last year were the zipped boots, priced at $2433.
These boots have a unique design with the zipper placed directly on the front, which was highly imitated domestically last winter.
Now let’s talk about The Row’s best-selling clothing.
The simpler the design, the better The Row does it, and the higher the sales. Shirts, trousers, and the initial breakout white T-shirt are examples.
When I first encountered The Row, their most popular items were the zipped boots and the Gala pants. Aside from the Gala pants, many of their trousers look great, but as mentioned earlier, they are not suitable for petite individuals.
Most of their trousers have slightly longer hems, as seen in the image below. This adds a relaxed and upscale feel. Their trousers in the same series come in different fabrics. For example, both images below are Lonan pants; the black pair is 100% virgin wool, while the brown pair is blended with mohair and wool.
Different fabrics in the same series have different prices. Regular viscose and cotton generally cover around
2500.
Overall, The Row’s trousers, shirts, and outerwear are hard to go wrong with as long as you can pull off the style. Just choose the colors and styles you like, and pick the best fabric in the series. No need to worry too much about matching and styles.
Writing this, I understand why so many people love The Row. Their clothes are durable, and the design quality is consistently high, as seen in the image below.
The Row started by making the perfect white T-shirt, creating a series of white T-shirts in different styles and fabrics. Some are made of long-staple cotton, some are linen, and some are blended with cashmere.
Focusing on different series, styles, and fabrics for a basic item is The Row’s design feature, unlike many other brands we see.
The Row consistently maintains high standards, frequently designing breakout items, with the effort in unseen details behind each piece.
Creating a hit product might be luck, but consistently producing popular items year after year demonstrates skill.
As celebrities retreated from the media and focused on designing clothes, Ashley serves as CEO and Mary Kate as Creative Director. Their 30-plus years of mutual companionship and communication, coupled with over a decade of design, have brought us the top-tier brand The Row we see today.
Epilogue
I discovered a small trick while writing this: find posts by fashion bloggers about your favorite brands and look up their most popular posts. These bloggers usually live the lifestyle you aspire to, and expanding your horizons can be beneficial.
When I searched for The Row on Xiaohongshu, I saw bloggers who were either wealthy or related to celebrities, people who attend various fashion shows in Paris each spring. These individuals have a mature aura.
In contrast, international fashion bloggers showcase a lifestyle, jetting between Sydney and Italy’s golden coastline Positano, attending friends’ weddings, enjoying wine on small Parisian balconies, or swinging in the French countryside. Unlike domestic bloggers who mostly shoot against white walls or full-length mirrors.
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