Following physical store locations in New York, London, the Hamptons and Los Angles, fashion's most famous twins have opened a long-awaited The Row flagship in Paris. Paris holds a special place in Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's heart where every year The Row is on the seasonal Paris Fashion Week schedule, showcasing their latest collection.
The Row has now found a retail home in Paris, located in the 1e arrondissement, sandwiched between rue de Rivoli and rue Saint-Honoré on the corner of rue d'Alger at 1 rue de Mont Thabor. For the twin designers, the location has been a long time coming. Speaking to Vogue, Ashley said, "We've been looking for years, but then we look everywhere all the time." She added, "We wanted to be in Paris before we opened in London, but we didn't find anything here first. Then, 18 months ago, a friend told us about this place." The importance of setting up a retail location in Paris has been evident in the level of detail seen throughout the store. Not your typical storefront, the space was a former restaurant, featuring windows throughout which was something the twins found challenging, "Having so many windows is amazing, but also a challenge because Ashley and I don't like putting anything in our windows," said Mary-Kate. Each window has a custom blind designed by Lilou Marquand, a favorite of the Olsens.
The sisters wanted to make sure that the store felt a part of the neighborhood, hoping the store gives off a homey feel. Ashley said, "It has to be a nice experience for the community—a sense of the store being local. Their experience is as important to us as anything else we do." The harmonious feeling of the store was important to the sisters as they create a third-home experience with their store that maintains the original and historic structure of the building with its industrial piping, yet stays true to the brand's minimal elegance.
Walking through the store space of the new The Row location is akin to walking through someone's home. Incredible taste and key design works such as wooden Traineau chairs by Victor Coutray welcome onlookers. High stone arches are complemented with cozy custom seating paired with modernist 1930s coffee table by Michel Dufet and in the room adjacent are two Henrik Wouda armchairs. The dressing rooms also featured key design pieces including a Jean Prouvé dressing room door. On the Parisian store's opening, Ashley stated, "We just want to open, because there are so many learnings when you do. You need to be very agile, and to make adjustments, so opening the doors and learning one day at a time… that’s very us. This may not be the most obvious place to be in Paris—we looked at almost every major street in the city—but we’re very happy here."
The Row
1 Rue du Mont Thabor
75001
Paris, France
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