Soft Power and Serene Luxury—Recollections of The Row’s First Paris Show for Spring 2016

The Row, spring 2016 ready-to-wear

Photo: Courtesy of The Row

Editor’s Note: In honor of Vogue Runway’s 10th anniversary, our writers are penning odes to the most memorable spring 2016 shows. New today: The Row’s Paris debut.

In September 2015 Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen took their American brand, named after Britain’s famed Savile Row, to France for the first time. Although some editors, including Vogue Runway’s own Sarah Mower, were able to preview the collection in Paris, the show and dinner party following were held at a distance from the capital, at the 17th-century Château de Courances. There, on the gravel paths that wind around plots of boxwood manicured into baroque arabesques originally laid out by Achille Duchêne, models crunched by guests seated on white-painted metal garden furniture sipping red wine.

The Row, spring 2016 ready-to-wear

Photo: Courtesy of The Row

The Row, spring 2016 ready-to-wear

Photo: Courtesy of The Row

Mother Nature delivered blue skies and full sun. The Olsens contributed a cumulus and a cirrus cloud, in the form of the first and last looks. The former, somewhat angelic, was draped, opaque and fluid; the latter, vaguely Grecian, was finely pleated and transparent, revealing a white bra and high-waisted panties underneath. Within the context of the sisters’ fashion nunnery, this was a daring collection, midriffs were revealed by a one-shouldered crochet top and shirts and jackets that were worn open over bra tops.

The Row, spring 2016 ready-to-wear

Photo: Courtesy of The Row

The Row, spring 2016 ready-to-wear

Photo: Courtesy of The Row

The mood was summery and the palette was peak Olsen: black, white, gray, navy, and khaki. Enlivening things a bit was a mustard yellow coatdress, a gold-beaded mesh top, and, most unexpectedly, a coat made of a vintage-seeming floral jacquard, which would have looked right at home in the château’s lavish interiors. Also signature was the style of photography; the models were caught in action, with some of the shots looking like candids.

This show was a one-off, the Olsens didn’t start presenting regularly in Paris until spring 2023, but it was a sign of the sisters’ ambitions. The elevated taste level of the collection served to show that the concept of an American luxury brand is not oxymoronic. Yet this was accomplished in a round-about way; the location’s distance from Paris, and from other designers’ shows, underlined the sisters’ insider-outsider status. The Rowification of fashion is an example of the Olsen’s use of soft power and silence.