What A Smart Way To Get Attention

So far at Paris Fashion Week, one of the biggest stories is a non-story. Or rather, it’s still a story – just minus the visuals. Which is the story. The Row, the coveted and fiendishly expensive label launched by twins Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen in 2006, banned mobile phones from its show, leaving guests to record events with a notebook and pencil, like it was 2006. How subversive of The Row to re-enact that quaint, pre-iPhone era when no-one, however badly they drew, had any alternative but to doodle crap, rudimentary sketches of highly complex garments, then file a report on them from memory.

I love this ballsy move. Apart from anything else, it’s Peak Row: powerfully on brand for a label at the vanguard of quiet luxury, stealth wealth and every other elitist fashion edict of recent times. Of course, the internet has been divided. Some guests resented not being able to share images with their readers and followers. Others enjoyed being made to focus on the moment. The Row’s fans were divided, too. “Exclusionary” said some. “Makes me want it even more,” said others. Regardless of your view, what a smart way to get attention – by avoiding it.