It’s a hazy morning at London Heathrow, and our flight, inbound from Miami, has just landed. The passenger is waiting patiently to disembark. She is dressed in an expensive-looking black sweater; on her wrists are two well-worn Cartier Love bracelets. She opens an inconspicuous, grainy leather bag to retrieve her passport. The words “The Row” glint in a thin, gold font from inside. The bag is called the Margaux, and it costs £3,025. It typifies the low-key but high-grade luxury style for which The Row has become so coveted.
Founded in 2006 by the former child actresses (Ashley and Mary-Kate are now 33), The Row’s ready-to-wear and accessories have 200 international stockists, including Net-a-Porter, Harrods and Bergdorf Goodman. They have standalone stores in Los Angeles and New York. And, this week, they are opening a boutique in London’s Mayfair. “We’d been looking for a site for the past two years,” says Mary-Kate of their store, located at 15 Carlos Place. The twins have agreed to meet four days ahead of its opening. They are seemingly at ease — despite the noise of technicians and carpenters working — when they step outdoors to say hello. Both are dressed in layers of navy, and both are wearing impenetrably dark sunglasses. With their petite stature and flaxen hair, they are recognisable, no doubt; a few passers-by pause and maybe do a double-take, but the twins make no indication that they’ve noticed. They are polite and, perhaps surprisingly to the outside world, they are down-to-earth. Case in point: they’ll both apologise repeatedly for the (really quite minimal) state of construction indoors.
“This was an art gallery before, and a bank before that,” says Ashley. Securing this setting was “sort of an accident”, says Mary-Kate. “But, a good accident. We were touring a few other locations nearby, but when we saw this building, we asked the realtor about it and he said, ‘Oh, yes, this is available too!’ ” The Olsens don’t so much finish one another’s sentences as much as elaborate the other’s points. The Row has become a global go-to for its understated, in-the-know and moneyed style. Women and men pursue — and collect — the brand for its seriously restrained and impeccably produced wares. The Olsens retain consistent critical acclaim in fashion circles and continue to garner a growing international clientele that naturally gravitates toward The Row’s quietness. It does not come cheap: a cashmere turtleneck coat costs £9,020; a wool-and-silk cowl-neck dress £6,420 — the embroidery on it takes one month to finish. A men’s polo shirt in cotton piqué retails for £380. “Every fabric we use is of the highest quality we can source,” says Mary-Kate. Womenswear is made predominantly in New York’s Garment District, with some artisanal production carried out internationally. Menswear is produced in Japan, Europe and the US.
In London, the twins worked with the architect Annabelle Selldorf, who is currently designing an expansion for The Frick Museum in New York. Selldorf has transformed 15 Carlos Place into an intersection of the industrial with the more natural and crafty. It’s full of open, still spaces, but with just the right dose of lived-in familiarity. Wooden elements offset grays and whites; darkened metal shelving contrasts against the milky light pouring in through towering, paned windows. “There’s a fine line in making something inviting in a room that is, essentially, a concrete rectangle,” says Mary-Kate. “Arts-and-crafts, art deco and French mid-century is the [winning] balance here,” adds Ashley.
Source: ft.com
