For some, it’s because it is the ne plus ultra of chic. For others, the unwavering powerful vision. For plenty, it’s the quiet yet palpable lust for what was presented on the runway. And for me? It was the serenity. That was the resounding takeaway at Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen’s The Row spring 2023 show—and I am not talking about the green juice you could swiftly imbibe on the way in, or the figs and grapes you could snaffle on the way out. (Fruit that was so perfect and delicious that it must have come from somewhere like Fauchon, where you can marvel at such things as $95 pineapples. Seriously.) The serenity of the Olsens’ clothes, of their show, of their space (a particularly gorgeous hotel particulier a stone’s throw from Place Vendôme) was a balm to the soul. Only a year or so ago we talked a good game about dialing back and reining in, but nowadays? Oof, the din, the noise, the volume, it’s all back. Just louder.
But, feeling and looking serene: Who doesn’t want that? It’s what you might arrive at as you watch an ivory duchesse satin evening dress, with a gently inflated aeration of volume at the back, any hauteur swept away by how the fabric has been made to look frayed and creased, like it was just pulled out of a trunk and thrown on with a what-the-hell shrug. That was just one of several terrific dresses, from a satin LBD with gently sculpted hips, to a crochet slip worn over a gauzy longer slip. (That same crochet also turned up on a green and white top, whose hem trailed over a pair of slouchy pants: Both handcrafted looks were standouts.)
Serenity, then, doesn’t equal perfection, and a good thing too, something that the Olsens played up with some styling touches, like the wrinkled hose, or a mesh tube dress squished over a white cotton shirt whose hems went floorwards. A little bit of mess to cut the precision is always good. Or you might register it as you see a loose cut black blazer walk by, with the surprise of the armholes cleverly opened so you can slide your arms out and wear it more like a vest, with a matching pair of natty Bermuda shorts. The use of sleeves was a recurring motif here; as a gestural flourish, holding a dress in place at the back, looking like an Obi sash, for instance.
Much has been made of the Olsens’ propensity for beautiful fabrics for even more beautifully made clothes, and it’s true on both counts. But there’s something else going on here: A little bit of dissonance, a touch of playfulness, shading and toning their exquisite clothes. Maybe Paris suits them. It certainly suits us. Even stepping out into the gray, damp, chill Parisian September air after their show, the S word was still running through the head, for the rest of a long and weary day.
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