The Row Debuts First Flagship

Ashley Olsen and Mary-Kate Olsen are making their way into retail with the launch of the first flagship store for The Row (New York). The 3800-square-foot store at 8440 Melrose Place in Los Angeles looks like the quintessential midcentury modern California pad, right down to the swimming pool in its glass courtyard, reports Women's Wear Daily.

The famous actress turned fashion desinger twins, who launched The Row in 2006, say they always planned to have a retail space for the line. They considered making their debut in New York, but when the Melrose space became available, it felt like an appropriate launch pad for their Los Angeles-born brand.

According to WWD, save for a short white signpost on the cobblestone sidewalk, a brushed steel plaque and a narrow window displaying an antique cabinet filled with folded white T-shirts and a signature backpack, none of the actual store is visible from the street. Customers first pass through white double doors in the gray stucco building, then through a narrow brick courtyard flanked by other offices, before reaching the store’s glass door, beyond which the pool is visible.

They refer to the spaces on either side of the pool courtyard as the west and east galleries, the west staged to resemble a dining area and the east a living room, while a third, smaller space in the front of the building is referred to as the library. “Ultimately, for us, it was about setting it up like a home and just having the apparel be a part of the space,” said Ashley.