In this week’s newsletter: Going offline is the new height of luxury a world where every moment of life plays out on the internet
he bi-annual Paris fashion week show by The Row, the hyper-elegant and expensive brand from the Olsen twins, is social media catnip. In the past, Instagram and TikTok would usually be saturated with content from an event that lasts about five minutes – from images of The Row’s enigmatic founders Mary-Kate and Ashley taking their post-show bow to fancy favours served to guests .
However, in an unexpected plot twist last Wednesday, prior to the show guests were sent a missive: “We kindly ask that you refrain from capturing or sharing any content during your experience,” it read. Naturally, many used social media to share the message. Reactions to the phone ban varied. Some saw it as snobbery; others a clever, if elitist, marketing ploy. Maybe it’s not that deep. Perhaps the Olsen twins, like Bob Dylan, who, thought it might be nice for guests to watch the show screen-free. “Our eyes open a little more and our senses are slightly sharper when we lose the technological crutch we’ve grown accustomed to,”Social media has, to some extent, democratised fashion week.
The Olsens are notoriously private individuals. They rarely give interviews and neither has a personal Instagram account. The Row’s dedicatedposts sporadically and mainly images of artworks to inspire rather than products to promote. As a private business, The Row doesn’t disclose financial information but its annual revenues areThis move towards increased privacy is a bubbling trend, seen everywhere from restaurants to celebrities to weddings.
In a world where everyone vies for attention online, some for monetary reasons, some for ego, many for both, the ultimate signifier in 2024 is signing out.