Apparel | Thursday, March 04, 2010

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SUPIMA IN THE NEWS: The Row in FWD

By Greg Wang

NEW YORK—When Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen got into the fashion business they were determined to learn everything about the best fibers, fabrics, and production.

Here, in a recent article headlined THE ROW’S UNCOMPLICATED LUXURY, is some of what Renata Espinosa of Fashion Wire Daily had to say:

Forget the style needs of PYT – pretty young things – because Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have women to dress.

Their successful label, The Row, known by retailers and customers for their “perfect” everything – whether a supima cotton t-shirt, a tuxedo jacket with just the right proportions or second skin black lambskin leather leggings – added a few more uncomplicated wardrobe essentials for those with highly discriminating tastes, which they showed at their first runway show during New York Fashion Week on Tuesday, Feb. 16.

Since launching the label in 2007, the twin sisters have eschewed a major show – and its subsequent media spotlight – preferring to present the collection to a handful of editors and buyers. Their show on Tuesday was no less exclusive, held in a small gallery that held no more than 100 seats.

Not that this has hurt their business. Like Martin Margiela, the designer who famously refused to ever be photographed, the Olsens have cultivated the kind of mystery and exclusivity around The Row that fashion loves, and that it sees increasingly less of.

But reverse psychology publicity stunt this is not. They actually do succeed in making great looking clothes in the classic American sportswear tradition that puts a premium on luxury combined with comfort and simplicity.

To read the rest of the profile, click here.

To see more of their Supima shirts for Barneys, like the one pictured at above right, click here.