278: PFW Day 2 / The Row by numbers

Plus textile text books, synthetic fragrances, and two looks (one of which is basically the bag).

Sep 25, 2024

Introducing Magasin’s pop-up Fashion Week newsletter-within-a-newsletter, where we’ll be covering shoppable observations from scenes of interest daily: Paris Fashion Week, Day 2.

Weather report

63ºF / 17º C

Itinerary

10a Alainpaul show

11a The Row store opening

3:30p Ganni show — sad to have missed this, but loved seeing that the brand collaborated with fellow Dane Nicklas Skovgaard and American Claire Sullivan, form-forward dressmakers dominating their respective markets

5:30p Ormaie visit

6p Ezekias Agency cocktail

9p Dinner at Le Cambodge

skipped, sadly

Day Look

Veilance Centroid Jacket, $650 (similar, $296 ~~$385~~) / The Row Patti Zip-Up Top, $1,190 / Auralee Indigo Hard Twist Denim 5P Jeans, $360 / J.Crew Berkeley Bucket Bag, $138 with SHOPFAST ~~$198~~ / Neous Ubens Mules, $690 / By Pariah Stone Trilogy Stack Rings, $680

Night Look

COS Waisted Leather Trucker Jacket, $590 / J.Crew Relaxed V-neck Sweater, $98 / Flore Flore White Jill Long Sleeve T-Shirt, $105 / The Row Gala Cady Wide-Leg Pants, $1,090 / The Row Burgundy Dalia Baguette Bag, $1,990 / Christian Louboutin Raratonga 55 Leather Mules, $723

Shoppable observations

I stopped by the Ormaie offices again (becoming a Paris tradition), which means more fragrance intel: Apparently 95% of the brand’s lineup is entirely naturally derived and 5% contain synthetic materials, yet 80% of sales in 2024 come from those synthetics—the new Toi Toi Toi and Yvonne extraits among them. It seems counterintuitive, but even as a natural wine-drinking, organic produce-eating, earth-loving type, I have to admit that there is something mystifyingly magnetic about those synthetic components. And! It really doesn’t have to be a detractor; manufactured materials can make a fragrance last longer and strike deeper than naturals alone.
The Ezekias Agency cocktail I went to used the same elegant Japanese Wasara paper cups I spotted last season at the Super Yaya showroom. I loved how the red wine stained them like water color paint.
I wound up at dinner with Emma Songeon who runs the celebrated vintage store Em Archives. We chatted a bunch about textiles (naturally), and she recommended the reference book Textilepedia, which had been gifted to her by her partner, the shirtmaker Oliver Church who I met over Men’s Week this summer.

Shop scene — The Row Paris, opening day

The Row Paris opened at 11am, and I arrived on its first day of operation at something like 11:07. There were already eight people inside, but no line (yet). Later, I’d see Derek Blasberg and Alyssa Coscarelli among the patrons. Behind a front room staged with Victor Courtray chairs (this similar pair is $18,000) hung women’s apparel from the FW24 collection that has yet to reach the online store or stockists. I hadn’t even really seen a lot of it before, since the show had a no-photo policy—as does today’s, and as did the store—and the lookbook was not entirely illustrative. I recognized this cashmere denim jacket and this suede trench. An inverted box-pleat crop top and balloon pants set of a was among the most “wow” of concepts, and another set of a sporty cashmere quarter-zip (around $4,000) and lounge pants was the most leis-urious. A mini East-West Margaux bag for more day-to-day toting purposes threatens to upend the bag scene entirely ($6,180).

In the far end of the store, among the men’s collection, is a cafe where you can get an espresso drink ($6…New York prices!) and sit at a central lounging setup where I spoke to a fellow New Yorker who’d just bought a Margaux 15, packed in an unmarked black bag, on her way into the office. I overheard her chatting with the brand’s PR and heard they had 12 private clients flying in for today’s show…just an interesting tidbit. Many of the shoppers were dressed in full The Row (I spotted white Eglitta jeans and a brighter red version of my new Dalia baguette bag), but it was also kind of amazing to see guys with logo’d out Dior bags and women wearing micro-shorts under oversized jackets. Even this haven of good taste can’t escape a bit of bad taste!

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