The Row’s Pre-Fall collection ships to stores on May 1, just as spring is finally starting to take root on the East Coast. When it was presented back in the depths of January, its multi-ply ribbed cashmere pants, generously proportioned wraps, and sheared furs seemed fairly irresistible. Reviewing the pictures now—like a handful of other designers, The Row’s Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen opted not to distribute them at the time of the appointment, the idea being to prevent customer fatigue—the clothes appear as elegant and rich as they did then, but somewhat out of synch with the seasons. The best outfit in the brand’s exquisitely shot lookbook (model Katrin Thormann looks straight out of a Renaissance painting) is a white slip dress with a deep ruffle at the hem worn with a button-down boasting of-the-moment pushed-up, puffed sleeves. Lovely and weather-appropriate.
The label’s New York store, its second boutique after Los Angeles’s Melrose Place, opens for business next month. What seems guaranteed to do well there is the Olsens’ new shoe line. After dabbling in cobbler-made loafers and mules for a couple of years, the designers have launched a full-fledged footwear collection, and there’s a lot of enthusiasm for it. When it was posted, an iPhone snap of their white croc ankle boots with mother-of-pearl–like heels became one of Vogue Runway’s most-liked Instagrams.
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