Some days are good days, and then some are days where The Row releases a new collection. The Row Spring 2022 has arrived, and the Olsen's are holding the line for their Agnosticism towards trends. Instead, amid the rise and rise of bare-all midriffs, silhouettes that recall the 90s, and a growing resurgence of body-con, The Row are staying true to saying less.
As they usher the Northern Hemisphere into a re-emergence of sorts,The Row Spring 2022 sends a strong message that the hot boy summer energy we've been presented on runways in the past month, has not swayed the brands DNA, not even for a moment.
For starters, there is an addition of volume than in previous collections, volume of fabric and volume of looks. In fact, the first looks up were those of gathered trench coats and layered skirts - some pleated, others ruched at the waist with tan over shirts, creating the illusion of masses of fabric. But that's what The Row is about, really, the illusion of a different life - one where things run on time, the wearer is perfectly polished, never demanding immediate attention, never a shirt tail accidentally untucked. Shirting, which, came next on the virtual runway. Layered on top of one another in contrasting blue and tan and belted at the waist - above the hip-slung trousers of our dreams. For men it was buttoned up to the neck, a straight, tonal tie serving as a bookish accessory, or loosely unbuttoned, peeking out beneath the throws of oversized, cocoon-like blazers.
There was an offering of trench coats, in every neutral you could dream up (including leather), and then came the colour. Vivid, raw red was styled against deep cobalt, and threaded between rich chocolates, greys and creams. A stain of colour on a raw silk scarf or party dress. Buttery washes of yellow served us a heaped spoonful of our upper-east-side fantasy, with button down spring coats finished with silk neck scarves in the same colour, and continued into leather accessories. All intercepting the vast neutrals that the Olsen's cling to as the roots of each collection.
We saw fringed raw-edges of a fully knit skirt alongside fluid lines and lengthened silhouettes. A few pieces hand-painted, an artistic ode to their love of creativity and fine arts. For accessories, micro coin purses suspended from corded leather featured alongside belt bags, which featured alongside oversized scrunchy totes and elasticated ankle boots.
One could argue that The Row hit its stride many seasons past, and that the silhouettes of Spring 2022 are simply continuations of what has already been done. I would say that's exactly the point. When collections whisper instead of yell, and the noticeable improvements fall in the details over the theatrics, that's when you know you've landed on something good. This season, we could all agree that that something, is The Row Spring 2022.
