The Row : from Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen #2

[Emmanuelle]

What a relaxing place. I would love to see that.

 

[Thefrenchy]

The Surprise Luxury Label - May 14, 2014
by Ray A. Smith

The Row Founders Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen Talk About High Prices and Their Older Target Customer

At The Row, a seemingly simple short-sleeve jersey T-shirt costs $280, a wool blazer with three-quarter-length sleeves slightly more than $1,300 and a top-handle satchel nearly $3,000.

The prices rival those of Bottega Veneta and Lanvin, houses much more established than The Row, which former child stars Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen founded in 2006.

The Olsens, now 27 years old, are well aware some fashion followers perceive The Row as audaciously priced. Some of that stems from what could be called Backpack-Gate.

A $39,000 alligator backpack that The Row began selling in 2011 raised eyebrows and elicited eye rolls, even as it reportedly sold out.

"That was obviously a very special bag to us but that didn't represent the entire range," said Mary-Kate Olsen in an interview earlier this month at the label's showroom in downtown Manhattan.

Ms. Olsen raised the issue early in the interview to make the point that The Row also sells bags in the $1,000 to $3,000 range. "So we've now spent a couple of years also retraining the customer that that's not the only product that's available."

Retailers were initially skeptical of the line, fearing it was just another celebrity vanity project, and overpriced to boot. At the time, the Olsens were still best known for their years on TV's "Full House."

Now, eight years later, high-end retailers call the line a success.

The Row opened its first store Tuesday in Los Angeles. The label was recently nominated for Accessories Designer of the Year from the Council of Fashion Designers of America. The Row is up against Alexander Wang and Proenza Schouler for the award, which will be given out in a ceremony early next month.

Older women are The Row's target consumers, an unusual choice for 20-something designers. The Row's customer, Ashley Olsen said, is "probably 40s, 50s, it really could be any age. She's—the women that I know are—sophisticated, very educated within the world of fashion" and appreciates finer fabrics and craftsmanship. That age group is also more likely to be able to afford The Row than a woman in her 20s.

So rather than showing the clothes on girlish-looking models, The Row cast runway models from decades past for its recent pre-fall 2014 collection lookbook (a booklet sent to fashion editors). And while many designers are accompanied at the CFDA awards by the latest young starlet or model, in 2012 The Row's guest was model and actress Lauren Hutton, now 70. (The label won the Womenswear Designer of the Year award that year, surprising people who thought Proenza Schouler was a shoo-in.)

The Row plans, for the first time, to start selling shoes from one of its runway collections. The shoes are a far cry from the feminine-looking heels and flats that women have proved willing to splurge on. Ashley Olsen said the menswear-inspired derby, mule and loafer styles will appeal to "a very specific customer. I don't think it's for everyone."

The Row collaborated with Enzo Bonafè, a maker of handmade men's shoes, based in Bologna, Italy. The label is only selling the handmade shoes, which start at $850, in its own store initially. It plans to begin producing footwear in house by next year.

Industrywide sales of women's handbags and shoes continue to outperform apparel. Spending on luxury items—including apparel, leather goods, watches, jewelry and cosmetics—is starting to slow, in part due to very wealthy consumers nearing the limits of what they are willing to spend. Sales of such items rose 7% last year, down from the 11% annual rate in 2010 through 2012, according to Boston Consulting Group, a global management consulting firm.

The Row started with a T-shirt, Mary-Kate Olsen said. "How we could make a perfect T-shirt in a great fabric that would fit any age. It was sort of just a project" that evolved into a brand. After the T-shirt came "the blazer and then the legging, it was about quality clothing," she continued. The twins, who don't have formal design-school training, tried to keep The Row from being lumped in with celebrity fashion lines. "We didn't do an interview for it for the first three years," Mary-Kate Olsen said. "Our whole point was if it's good product, it will sell without a label or a logo or a face behind it and it worked."

About 145 high-end department stores and boutiques world-wide carry The Row's apparel, while 77 carry its accessories. The Row declined to discuss sales. A 2009 New York Times article estimated sales at $10 million. The label is a division of Dualstar Entertainment Group, a private, brand-management company owned by the Olsens. Dualstar oversees their other businesses, which include lower-priced clothing lines, as well as movies and books—many featuring the twins as children.

Savile Row inspired The Row's name, "the idea of made-to-measure clothing," Mary-Kate Olsen said. The line's minimalist clothes are sometimes elegantly slouchy, luxurious takes on staples such as the cable-knit sweater or the double-faced cashmere overcoat. The accessories share a similar discrete aesthetic.

To casual observers, The Row's merchandise raises the question why something so basic and simple-looking costs so much.

The clothing "is a luxury product made in the U.S.," Mary-Kate Olsen said. "So I think we're pretty much priced…" She paused a moment to consider the word she wanted to use. Ashley Olsen swooped in, saying "we're competitively priced." (The two tend to complete each other's thoughts.) "Everyone that we sit next to as far as from the apparel standpoint, we're competitively priced."

Ashley Olsen continued: "We always do competitive research about materials, make, and what we are doing versus what other companies are doing." Some techniques in the way The Row's clothes are made add to their cost.

The Olsens looked unsure when asked what their titles were. "We don't like titles at this company," Mary-Kate Olsen said with a laugh. (Their titles are co-chief executives and co-creative directors.) The label's bags are made in Italy, which raises the cost. The Row uses expensive materials: One version of its new Book Bag comes in crocodile and was made using a Bombé technique, one of the twins described as "an older technique that you don't see very often," that gives the leather a pebbled texture. Bags' linings are fabrics such as linen rather than synthetic.

Daniella Vitale, chief operating officer of Barneys New York, the first retailer to carry The Row's bags, said "Mary-Kate and Ashley were right all along by keeping their debut collection in rare and exclusive materials." The Barneys customer responded to that, she said, but the Olsens "also recognized it was not sustainable in these super-luxe versions and began to evolve the collection into leathers, canvas, and suede with beautiful simple hardware. This evolution has really broadened their audience at Barneys."

Ms. Vitale said the retailer has been "very pleased" with way The Row's bags, carried in Barneys's flagship store on Madison Ave., in Beverly Hills and its website, have performed. "Now with the range of pricing and styling," Barneys would consider carrying the bags in its smaller stores, she said.

The Olsen sisters get excited when they spot someone in public carrying one of their bags. "The last time we were in Paris, we saw a few people with the handbags that we didn't know and we didn't gift so we did sneak a few photos," Mary-Kate Olsen said.

- ONLINE.WSJ.COM

 

[HeatherAnne]

Nice read, they've definitely made a believer (in their talents) out of me. I definitely do remember the days of being dubious, along with everyone else, about their t-shirts... until I bought one [and still own it now years later in perfect condition]. I could tick off a number of designers making basic t-shirts in that price range now, but they were some of the first to take the risk. Thrilled to keep hearing new about their shoe line, FINALLY!

 

[tricotineacetat]

They obviously took their time to figure out a sustainable, unhurried business approach, something that a lot of other independent designers coming from London or New York probably couldn't do - In a funny way, while in the end, all designers are being perceived as that, there is an odd reality to the fact that independent designers are expected to grow their businesses' with fast progress and have support from influential key opinion leaders from the very beginning, while 'celebrity designers' are often expected the very opposite - keep their collection operations below the radar, attend at their trunk shows and other sales events and not to stage flashy fashion shows.

The two have done their homework well, though - the fabrics they are using are as luxurious as they can get and the quality and construction is on par (if not higher) than that of Celine.

 

[kasper!]

^And the leather of their bags is almost on par with Hermès...When I first touch THAT Day Luxe bag, I almost cired. So timeless and simple..

 

[tricotineacetat]

^And the leather of their bags is almost on par with Hermès...When I first touch THAT Day Luxe bag, I almost cired. So timeless and simple..

Yes, the quality of their leather goods is definitely a notch up from what Celine or Saint Laurent are charging for their lines. As had already been mentioned in the article - it started out as a true vanity project and not a fast cash cow, like the huge accessories' ranges that houses' like Saint Laurent are offering to generate the majority of their sales.

This goes back to what I was saying earlier about the twins being able to build a brand without needing to generate immediate profitability - They had and have the deep pockets to do this exactly the way they liked, therewith pursuing their business with complete consistency.

 

[JunyaSchick]

Yes, the quality of their leather goods is definitely a notch up from what Celine or Saint Laurent are charging for their lines. As had already been mentioned in the article - it started out as a true vanity project and not a fast cash cow, like the huge accessories' ranges that houses' like Saint Laurent are offering to generate the majority of their sales.

This goes back to what I was saying earlier about the twins being able to build a brand without needing to generate immediate profitability - They had and have the deep pockets to do this exactly the way they liked, therewith pursuing their business with complete consistency.

I think the Row is sustained by the other (mass-oriented) brands they have (stylemint, olsenboye and E&J). I would like to know if they have already started to have profits on The Row. The boutique is definetly a step towards it. In this sense, as creators, they have been very lucky to have the financial power to be able to focus that much on the quality of the product.

 

[anlabe32]

That's the prettiest store i've ever seen.

 

[Thefrenchy]

2014 CFDA Fashion Awards Journal
Ph: Willy Vanderperre
Styl: Olivier Rizzo
M: Ashley Olsen, Mary-Kate Olsen, Ola Rudnicka


WMAGAZINE.COM

 

[Thefrenchy]

They just won the CFDA Award for Accessories Designer of The Year

 

[VogueDisciple93]

Congratulations!
These girls have accomplished so much as creative directors, and in the process considerably chipped away at the idea that celeb lines can not be great and celebrated. The Row is a totem of these ladies' intelligence, matured taste, control, and irreverence for fashion and women. After seasons of showing some of the most impeccably crafted apparel and accessories this side of the hemisphere I am always infuriated that people denounce their pricing and worth. Yes, the prices are steep, but you are getting some of the industry's best. They are right to say they are competitively priced compared to luxury contemporaries, because their work near that of luxury deity Hermès.

I am so excited for the future of the brand. Cannot wait to start drooling over their menswear.

 

[Thefrenchy]

They designed Molly Fishkin's wedding dress. Here are some photos... Full article can be found at: http://www.vogue.com/culture/article/molly-fishkin-asher-levin-wedding-los-angeles/#


VOGUE.COM

 

[Miss Dalloway]

^ What a gorgeous wedding dress that is.

 

[MaybeJaded]

the dress is gorgeous

 

[HeatherAnne]

I'm not crazy about the bell sleeves, but I guess they were a nice subtle nod to Stevie Nicks being the bride's godmother. Absolutely gorgeous otherwise. What a dream to have a wedding gown made by them.

 

[vetements]

The articles make me like the girls even more, very smart, very shrewd and definitely has good business acumen.
And I also agree that their deep pockets allow them to sustain the business. But it all stems from their hardwork and intelligence since young in the first place.

That said, I am not quite liking the shop, it is a bit too sparse and doesnt scream `luxury` in the first instance...maybe this is the American/ LA sense of aesthetic but certainly not quite old-money European. Being understated doesnt mean it has to stinge on furnishing, the place doesnt look like it costs a lot of money to make, the window frames doesnt look nice, for eg.
I also dont like the fact that they are selling their selected (I assume) furniture...maybe when the time comes, they should be designing their own furniture lines.

 

[GIVENCHYlover]

Bad news

HERMÉS is close to naming departing creative director Christophe Lemaire's successor, with The Row's design director, Nadége Vanhee, said to be the favourite to take the role.

Vanhee has stayed out of the spotlight while establishing a name for herself in the industry. Before working with the Olsen sisters, she enjoyed stints as senior designer at Celine under Phoebe Philo and at Maison Martin Margiela, reports WWD. If she does take on the top job at Hermés, she would be following in Margiela's footsteps, as well as those of Jean Paul Gaultier.

vogue.com

 

[loladonna]

Bad news


vogue.com

Bad news and a reality check for anyone who still thinks the Olsens actually design and construct the clothing for The Row, although they do a great job making it seem as if no formal training is required to design high quality clothing.

 

[JunyaSchick]

That's indeed bad news, they would be losing one of their biggest assets... it's quite clear having in mind the houses for which Vanhee has worked in the past and the aesthetic the The Row follows. I would like to know who they are hiring next.

 

[Thefrenchy]

Surely there won't be an announcement regarding who's replacing her at The Row, will it?

Also I'm a bit curious as to how these things work. So you're working at a place and have a prominent position, suddenly you get a call and two days later you quit and move out of the country to join a new team? And your employer just has to deal with it and find a new person to replace you?