Fashion Insiders Are Obsessed With The Row’s Margaux Bag

The Row’s designers Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen originally set out to create their own label in 2006 with the goal of creating the perfect T-shirt. In the nearly two decades that followed, they have accomplished so much more.

The twins’ label has become one of the most sought-after luxury fashion brands in the world. Despite high price points and pretty minimal design features, customers clamor to get their hands on all the latest pieces. And with the rise of the “quiet luxury” phenomenon, there may be no other brand more synonymous with the concept. The Row’s most coveted item, though? The Margaux Bag.

“Without a logo, the style came with a bit of an IYKYK smugness in its early days.”

According to Celenie Seidel, senior womenswear editor at Farfetch, one of the leading global marketplaces for luxury fashion, there’s a specific reason why the seemingly plain leather tote is so beloved (and not to mention, perpetually sold out). “The Margaux’s lack of ostentatious branding really conveniently intersected the mood for consumers’ appetite for more understated, less obnoxious luxury fashion items,” she says. “Without a logo, the style came with a bit of an IYKYK smugness in its early days.” And she’s totally right.

The History Of The Margaux

The brand introduced the first iteration of the Margaux during New York Fashion Week in February 2018, as part of that year’s Fall Ready-To-Wear collection. Three different variations of the oversized tote came walking down the runway that winter day.

What showgoers and critics most likely didn’t realize at the time was just how popular this bag would eventually become. The fact that the style made its debut in a museum, the Noguchi, arguably served as a foreshadow of its staying power.

“The Margaux is an impressive carry-all kind of style,” says Seidel. “Perhaps better phrased as carry-everything.”

Wait, The Margaux Costs How Much?!

Since 2018, the tote has been reprised in different colors, sizes, and textures. The smallest leather size, The Soft Margaux 10, comes in five different shades and has a starting price of $3,490. According to Seidel, “versions in suede are a particularly popular choice, adding an extra element of sumptuousness.”

Then there are the Soft Margaux 12, 15, and 17, with the leather versions coming in at $4,890, $4,390, and $5,890, respectively. The EW Margaux 17, which is made from 100% calfskin leather, is the most expensive style at a whopping $6,810.

Despite its steep price, many see the Margaux as a collectors’ item. It’s become more of an investment piece similar to an Hermés Birkin or the Chanel Classic Flap.

Prior to the creation of the Margaux, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were devoted Birkin bag owners. It has been speculated that the two set out to create a similar status symbol. Whether intended or not, it’s clearly working.

“This also comes at a time where image-curation platforms have resurfaced nostalgic images from decades past of The Row’s founders toting much coveted Hermés Birkin bags — which in a way has catapulted this luxury oversized bag effect back into the zeitgeist,” says Seidel.

The Pop Culture Effect

Beyond its timeless design and limited supply, the success of the Margaux is that which can be attributed to multiple factors. The tote, which is now a signature for the brand, has been embraced by your favorite stylish celebrities.

Seidel believes what makes it so timeless is the “low-key celebrity endorsement.” With high-profile stars like Zoë Kravitz, Rosé, and Harry Styles being spotted buying and loyally carrying the Margaux, it’s “had a notable effect on its popularity and desirability, inarguably helped along by the ‘quiet luxury’ movement.”

As if celebs like Jennifer Lawrence and Kendall Jenner weren’t influential enough, in came Succession.

In the very first episode of the fourth and final season in March 2023, actor Matthew Macfadyen referred to a large and out-of-place Burberry crossbody bag as “ludicrously capacious,” “monstrous,” and “gargantuan.” The insult went viral online but it had more meaning than just Tom Wambsgans’ diss.

It was a microcosm of what it meant to be part of the wealthy upper class — so rich that even a designer Burberry bag with logos gave away the character’s lesser social status. The characters in Succession were largely dressed in minimal, plain, and logo-less clothing.

Even though there were no Margauxs featured in the show, the series helped perpetuate the fashion subculture of the “quiet luxury” trend. Seidel says, “The appetite for the capacious tote, in an era of peak-Birkin desirability, has contributed to the rise in demand for this bag.”

To the untrained eye, The Row’s Margaux bag is just a regular leather tote. But if you know, you know... and that’s precisely the point.