No Place Like THE ROW

For the past 20 years, the luxury brand has shaped countless microtrends and endless discourse on access, exclusivity, and quality in fashion. In a series of exclusive interviews, insiders explain exactly how the company did it—and what might come next.

- BY HALIE LESAVAGE

You may have come across a nondescript leather sandal with a $690 price tag or, perhaps, a woman named Zoë or Kendall or Jennifer, captured by paparazzi in an absolutely perfect chunky knit. Maybe you saw the TikToks of a line snaking outside a New York City sample sale last fall, where expectant faces melted down over 75-percent-off merchandise that still rang up for triple (or quadruple) digits. No matter your introduction to the brand, you've likely heard of The Row. Over the past two decades, its understated expression of luxury—logoless leather bags, tapered ballet flats, roomy wool coats—has divided fashion into two groups: those who get it and those who don't. The former includes every major luxury retailer, every A-lister worth following, and the CFDA, which has awarded it seven times in the last 14 years (a sign that the label is taken seriously by the industry's power players). Most consequentially, you can trace any major trend that has reached mass appeal in recent years, from quiet luxury to jelly sandals, back to The Row. By 2024, the owners of Chanel and L'Oréal had taken on minority ownership, sending the brand's valuation to approximately $1 billion.