What were you doing in 2006? Perhaps watching The X Factor, going out-out in a bandage dress and listening to "Crazy" on repeat on your iPod Shuffle. But amongst all that sickly sweet noughties pop culture, something a little more refined was happening in fashion land: The Row.
In 2006, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were former child-star It girls who had the power to make a pen-stained Balenciaga Moto bag, a smoking habit and goth-eqsue black layers the height of chic (what can we say? It was a different time). Moving away from acting and towards fashion, they had a simple idea: to create the perfect T-shirt. The result was released along with a wider collection, including a wool tank dress and leggings. If that sounds low-key, knowing the brand as well as we do now, it sounds so "The Row".
In the 20 years since, these two little whispered words have become the ultimate in discreet, classic and minimalist fashion, bought by those with the budget and imitated by the rest of us. Who hasn’t attempted to get the look without dropping £640 on a tank top? I’m certainly guilty as charged.
Content curator Olivia Wayman is a fan. "Don’t tell my fiancé, but I counted last night, and [I have] approximately 80 [pieces]," she says. The influence goes beyond this impressive collection, though. "Not only do I take notes from the pieces, but also the styling," she adds. "There is so much to learn from simple tricks The Row utilises in its campaigns, such as a popped collar, a rolled sleeve or a purposeful size up."
Fashion curator Brittany Bathgate agrees. "[It has] transformed my wardrobe and how I get dressed. There’s much more ease now, and a quiet inner confidence in what I wear. I reach for fewer pieces, but the ones I do wear feel considered and fit perfectly," she explains. The clothes are one thing, but The Row’s discretion extends to its communications, and this is part of the lore. If most brands promote their designers and share imagery from their shows, The Row famously doesn't allow phones (often giving out notebooks and pens for the audience to make notes), and the designers rarely appear in public.
This, of course, makes any tidbit of insider information go viral, such as the perfectly juicy, individually wrapped blackberries given to guests before the autumn/winter 2026 show this March. "Most luxury fashion didn’t resonate with me because of the extravagance, logos and loudness of it all," says Bathgate. "[Its] refusal to participate in what can sometimes feel like the circus of the fashion world felt genuinely game-changing."
It’s also just, well, all kinds of chic. Like everyone, I made a mental note to go more minimal with my wardrobe whilst watching Sarah Pidgeon as Carolyn Bessette Kennedy in Love Story. Still, the Olsens provide an equally camera-shy blueprint of how to do understated in 2026. In a world quite obsessed with selfies and 'fit pics, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are the antithesis, and it works. Case in point: seeing just one rare image of Mary-Kate this winter, wearing a long coat and Sambas, recently made me reconsider the classic trainer once again.
The clothes are one thing, but The Row’s discretion extends to its communications, and this is part of the lore. If most brands promote their designers and share imagery from their shows, The Row famously doesn't allow phones (often giving out notebooks and pens for the audience to make notes), and the designers rarely appear in public.
With The Row’s success comes imitation from other brands—not that the twins would lower themselves to point it out, of course. Instead, others have done it for them. Last year, respected fashion journalist Rachel Tashjian called out designers showing at New York Fashion Week as "copycats", with a "Rowification" taking place. And there are, of course, Row-like items on the high street that we all buy into. I love the sweaters at COS, for example, or the fisherman sandals at Massimo Dutti. "It would be an understatement to say other brands have taken inspiration from The Row," says Wayman. The Row styling is felt from high street to luxury, all [to capture] a Rowesque customer."
There are also the ex-The Row designers who bring that exquisite taste to the other brands they go on to join. Sofia Menasse, now design director at Gwyneth Paltrow’s GWYN, used to work at The Row, as did Veronica Leoni at Calvin Klein and Nina Christen, the new design director of shoes at Dior. "It is definitely cool to say you have a The Row alum," confirms Amy Odell, the woman behind fashion Substack Back Row. "It’s got cachet."
This wasn’t always the case, though. The Olsens were child stars of TV shows like Full House before they were It girls and then fashion founders, and—much like Spice-Girl-turned-fashion-designer Victoria Beckham— faced preconceptions from the industry when they first started the brand. "[The programmes are] really cheesy if you go back and look at them," says Odell. "It’s night and day compared to The Row. So they had to overcome that, and I think that they have."
And some 20 years after The Row began, it’s a long way from a "celebrity" brand. Instead, it’s reaching the status of what Odell says the Olsens wanted all along: to become the Hermès of America. Valued at $1bn in 2024, and with investment from the owners of Chanel, part of this is down to a relatively new addition to the offering—the Margaux, a bowling-bag shape priced coolly at over £4000, if you can even get your hands on it. "If you're going to have longevity in the luxury space, it’s pretty essential to have an It bag," says Odell. "People were comparing it to the Birkin." The brand has even followed the Margaux with the Terresse, an east-west style released in February, and now—you guessed it—it's sold out.
Beyond product, fans who love this less-is-more brand want, well, more. "I believe [the Olsens] will have absolutely expanded on the world of The Row," says Wayman. "Art galleries, dedicated homeware and antique stores. One can only hope."
Shop Our Favourite The Row Buys:
