Now that Fashion Week is officially over, I have taken to Style.com to absorb the seemingly endless coverage of the Fall/Winter 2010 collections.  I know from seating five shows that a reviewer from Style.com’s opinion is of the utmost importance to a designer.  A scathing reaction from Meenal Mistry or Nicole Phelps can topple a brand’s reputation, while a glowing one can cement a brand’s legacy.  Upon seeing the very positive first review for newcomer, The Row, I couldn’t help but wonder how much of the brand’s influence is predicated on the undefinable “cool” that its founders embody.

Reviewer Nicole Phelps summarizes The Row’s first official Fashion Week showing as “utterly simple and anonymously chic.”  The 19 minimalist looks offered up simple silhouettes that are neither trendy nor counter-culture.  Simply put, the clothes are beautiful and unarguably safe. However, the Sister’s Olsen are being touted as the future of fashion and are recent inductees into the prestigious Council of Fashion Designers of America.

I decided that I would try to figure out how real people really feel about The Row in comparison to MaxMara, the classic Italian design house who has been offering luxe staples for years, and commercial front-runner, Gucci.  The results were surprising and reinforced my inkling that while The Row may stand for quality, its really the cool quotient that is garnering all the love.

The Test:

I asked ten women ranging in age from 24 to 64 to describe the aforementioned brands in three words and to rank them from “coolest” to “lamest.”  All but one of my respondents ranked “The Row” as the “coolest.”  I also included Badgley Mischka as a control variable because I knew everyone would think its lame.  However, it was my participants’ reactions to the images below that was the most telling.

While people were fond of The Row look (look #2), a surprising number of respondents favored Look #1 (Max Mara) and even look #3 (Badgley Mischka!)  However, it was unanimous that look #4 (Gucci) was the worst.  While Gucci was the highest grossing luxury retailer in 2009, my respondents described the brand as “oversexed”, “tacky” and plain “over.”  Interestingly, the feedback on MaxMara was mixed.  Some reviewers called the collection “classic” and “elegant” while others defined it as “matronly” and “lame.”

Seemingly people are enamored with The Row as a brand, but I am curious to see if public opinion and actual sales have anything to do with one another.  Does cool = cash?  If so, maybe MaxMara, who is basically peddling the very same wares as The Row, should hire a brand ambassador.  I hear Dakota Fanning is looking for endorsement deals.

I used to do PR for The Row.  I am now doing PR for myself due to the fact that I was ever, in any way, associated with The Row.  The brand debuted its inaugural runway collection this week at Milk Studios for FW2010 and it is beyond amazing.  True to its roots, yet somehow completely innovative, The Row’s newest collection comes out part-Calvin Klein, part-Bottega, yet amazingly, all its own.  An anomaly, just like the Olsens.

As a side note, I think my favorite thing to come out of the FW2010 collections is the attention to layering.  Also seen at 3.1 Phillip Lim and Alexandre Herchcovitch is this new emphasis on lean silhouettes layered under structured pieces.  This tactic in clever disguise can come in handy when trying to fake a perfect body.

I usually applaud Jennifer Connelly for her risky fashion choices.  She is one of the only people who could pull off all of that navajo/gladiator Balenciaga stuff and she literally knocked me unconscious when she wore emerald green Balmain.  However, today’s look when she visited “The Late Show with David Letterman” was just sort of off.  I assume the skirt is Balenciaga (not sure) and the jacket seems to be The Row.  While I can appreciate a dark tight paired with a sandal, there is just way too much happening here.  The entire look seems unbalanced to me and I think she should have waited to wear that sassy skirt to an event in LA where she could flaunt her fabulous stems sans pantyhose.  I also think she should take a short hiatus from wearing femme fatale clothing; I’m starting to suspect that she is a superhero.

Jennifer Connelly may or may not want to kick your ass.