The history of luxury brand The Row

If you’re a millennial like me, the Olsen twins were a mainstay of your childhood.

Full House. In a New York Minute. It Takes Two. The list goes on.

With a fashion line with Walmart at the age of 12, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have been designing clothing for pretty much their entire lives.

Let’s not forget – this was in the pre-celebrity clothing line and influencer collab era.

And after officially retiring from acting in 2012 at the age of 26, the notoriously private pair pivoted into luxury fashion full time.

But let’s take a step back – what is The Row, and how did it start?

The Story of The Row

When Ashley Olsen was 18-years-old, she challenged herself to design an everyday t-shirt, unhappy with the current offerings on the market.

She tried her prototype on women from ages 20 – 60 on all bodies, trying to source the best fit.

From there, her line expanded to leather leggings.

Spurred from this t-shirt challenge, the brand was formally founded in 2005 (as per the brand website, though the internet will tell you 2006), with Barneys New York purchasing their first collection of seven items. Although, sadly dear reader, I cannot find photos of this original Barneys line anywhere.

The allure of The Row is its private, low-key vibe. The Olsens did not give a public interview about the brand for the first three years of its inception, and at first, they did not want their names associated with the brand.

In a culture of celebrity worship, their strategy paid off. They wanted the clothing to speak for themselves. If the product was good, they wouldn’t have to market it.

British Vogue said it best,

“The secret to The Row’s success: true luxury in the contemporary fashion market is not hype-driven or internet-breaking, but unassuming and slow, slipping (almost) under the radar. It’s clothing that speaks of an inner confidence. These are future fashion heirlooms in the making.”

And in 2012, the same year the pair officially retired from acting, the Olsens won their first Womenswear Designer of the Year award at the Council of Fashion Designers of America annual awards.

What is The Row named after?

There’s a street in central London, UK known for its exquisite tailoring and fine suiting.

Since 1846, tailors have been flocking there, creating an international reputation as a centre of excellent bespoke tailoring.

Called Savile Row, the street inspired the brand – speaking to the brand’s self-proclaimed focus on exceptional fabrics, impeccable details and precise tailoring. Based on uncompromising quality, the house explores the strength of simplistic shapes.

If you’re like me and obsessed with reading about each year’s Met Gala theme – you may recall hearing about Savile Row as it relates to Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.

According to Fashionista.com, Ozwald Boateng was the first black tailor with a namesake brand to open a shop on Savile Row in 1995, where he’s since created custom, bespoke suits for men.

Known for his use of bold colours, patterns and shapes inspired by his Ghanian heritage, he attended this year’s Met Gala, buying a table and dressing stars like Burna Boy, Jaden Smith and Colin Kaepernick.

What is The Row known for?

Beyond its logo-less quiet luxury and infamous founders, here are some top items permeating pop culture conversations recently.

1.     The Ginza Sandal – as we covered in The Evolution of the Fashion Flip Flop, the Row dropped its signature leather Ginza sandal in 2019, acting as the launchpad of bringing the fashion flip flop into mainstream conversation.

2.     The Margaux tote – heavily declared as the new Birkin after the Hermès dupe started circulating in Walmart reselling markets, sortve ironic if you think how the Olsens started their first clothing line with Wal Mart. In strategic smart moves, The Row has removed the Margaux tote from its shelves, likely because they want the value of their tote to rise.

3.     The Jelly Sandal – while admittedly I only want to gas up the Olsens, we can’t not mention the viral TikTok hiccup in 2024, when their $900 jelly shoes broke on their customers. The brand ultimately halted production.

The Row in the News

Recently, The Row made headlines when the family behind Chanel and L’Oreal made an investment in the brand, alongside other key investors – valuing the fashion house at $1B.

Currently, The Row has physical locations in New York, Los Angeles, the Hamptons and London.

There’s been rumours swirling for a while that the brand is positioning themselves to try and get into couture after they announced a new Paris location.

Which honestly, we’d really love to see.

As reported by the Business of Fashion, The Row has primarily built its business via womenswear, with limited offerings for men’s fashion. Known for exclusivity, clothing is sold through select wholesalers and only a handful of stores.

And in scouring through old interviews of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, you can feel their love of fashion in the way they speak about their process and methodology.

In a 2013 interview with Net-A-Porter, Ashley explains it is their love of how a fabric drapes that inspires their design work with The Row. And that seems very clear today.

Where it All Began – the Walmart Line

The Olsen twins began their first foray into designing clothing at the age of 12, when they started their clothing line with Walmart in 1999.

It was designed for girls aged 4 - 14, helping Walmart break into the tween market.

I was so pleased to find some photos from the original 2004 Walmart runway show.

Image Credit: Harper’s Bazaar | Getty Images.

Created alongside their childhood stylist Judy Swartz, the clothing line had many Y2K staples - from crimped hair, tiny coloured sunglasses, to capris and matching sets.

Personally, I can’t recall if I ever ended up buying anything from this line, but I definitely remember searching for it at Walmart as a young kid obsessed with all things Olsen.

The Olsens Style

It seems like the Olsens have been setting style for their entire lives.

And to be clear – they’ve been working with a stylist since they were children.

And in a previous Net-A-Porter interview, Ashley explained,

“When we were younger, being in the public eye was almost part of our roles and responsibility – to set the trends at that time or be ahead of fashion.”

With Mary-Kate adding,

“We would take adult clothing and cut it down to our size, change the proportions. I think from a young age we understood fit in a very different way because we’re so petite.”

I liken this to so many of us who I chat with who were into vintage from a really young age and now have really distinct style as an adult.

They each had to be resourceful, with some facing financial barriers to the ‘cool clothing’ everyone else was wearing, to learning how to dress our unique bodies because of something we may have formerly disliked in adolescence, from a short torso, legs, being tall – the list goes on.

For myself, I grew up on hand-me-downs from my four brothers, so I had to be scrappy.

And my love and habit of thrifting started from my mother – who once told me, “you don’t need to spend money to look good. It’s comes down to the quality of fabric and the fit to your body.”

This began a weekend ritual of yard sales, thrift stores and finding unique options on a budget.

But what I didn’t know is that I was learning how garments work, how to spot quality in a sea of options and how to dress for myself.

While obviously this is in no way a direct comparison to two Hollywood childhood actors working with a team of stylists from an incredibly young age – but I liken it to how being forced to not rely on malls and learn how to use clothing to work for you, can unconsciously help teach you style, and ultimately how to dress better.  

The twins’ former stylist, Judy Swartz, echoed the challenges she faced when styling the twins to Refinery29,

“[she] preferred to put the Olsens in tailored womenswear when they were younger, often seeking out clothes in smaller boutiques or high-end retailers like Barneys. I had such a hard time finding clothes for them, because there wasn’t anything out there that I really wanted to put them in.”

The influence of the Olsens

It’s hard to imagine what being infamous from the age of 9 months old, growing up in the spotlight, and taking over the reigns of your $1B media empire at the age of 18 years old would really be like.

But what I appreciate about the Olsen twins is that they want to be left alone.

They’re serious, elusive and value their privacy. Today, we have so much access to everyone’s lives online. I think we can all agree it can be pretty overwhelming even at the best of times.

The Olsens have seemed to crack the code early.

If they wanted to be taken seriously as fashion designers, they’d have to create a product that spoke for itself. They didn’t want to be the face of the brand, nor rely on their name for marketing.

No splashy logos, no social allowed on runways, it’s understated. Much like its founders.

I think the overwhelming success of The Row is multifaceted.

One part quality design, and two, have it be authentic to the people behind the vision.

And honestly, is there anything as cool as being an Olsen twin?

Image Credit: Getty Images.

Until next time,

- TSH xx

The Style Historian is a lifelong thrifter and style enthusiast passionate about the stories behind the fashion, trends and styles we see today. She covers these histories on her weekly blog, The Style Historian, and on her Instagram @thestylehistorian_. In 2022, she founded her online vintage shop, Good Find Studio, in an effort to minimize her closet and live more sustainably. When not reading about fashion, she can be found helping her friends and family find the perfect outfits, thrifting or watching Bravo.Sources:

Vanity Fair, Harper’s Bazaar, Bing.com, Net-A-Porter, Vogue, The Row, British Vogue, Wikipedia – The Row, InStyle, Business of Fashion, Who What Wear, Fashionista, Wikipedia – Savile Row Tailoring