Los Angeles Fashion Week, the only place where you’ll see as many people on the catwalk as in the front rows either as some sort of celebrity model or even worse, the dreaded celebrity “designers”. Every day now it seems a new thread is created on tFS for some “celebrity” who will be debuting their own fashion line either in conjunction with another brand (Lauren Conrad for Linea Pelle), on their own (Lauren Conrad Collection), or some combination of the two.
So what makes Mary-Kate and Ashley’s Olsen’s The Row any different? Whether or not one considers this a great label for basics in cashmere or modal, or a Rick Owens rip-off at a higher price point, the small collection has developed a devoted following. The collection confines itself to a minimalistic palette of black, white and grey with occasional shots of color. The limited production run also adds to The Row’s allure.
Unlike Jessica Simpson shoes or even their lower priced Mary-Kate and Ashley line which is licensed and features in Wal-Marts spanning the globe, only a handful of boutiques carry the line and as anyone who has tried to find The Row knows, it’s usually confined to one tiny rack at a Barney’s or Harvey Nichols, with no pieces in your size.
The low-key press has also been a brilliant PR move. What better way to create hype than to do a complete 180 from all other brands and do as little advertising as possible, relying on word-of-mouth from buyers. Perhaps the sisters Olsen have lucked upon the only way to achieve legitimacy in a fashion world that is saturated with discounted, poorly made, celebrity endorsed goods.
Photos courtesy of Splash News
