It’s a handbag so famous that it’s known by one word, a privilege afforded to only the most rarefied accessories in history: Margaux. Not only has it become one of the most coveted designs by The Row, but the bag is increasingly hard to get your hands on, a hallmark of a truly iconic designer bag.

The Birkin still (and always will) have cachet, but the new-gen luxury shopper is fully aware of The Row’s Margaux, attracted by its stealth-wealth reputation and “IYKYK” kudos. Its celebrity fan club is not only extensive, but features a roster of trend-setting women including Zoë Kravitz, Taylor Russell, Rosé and Jennifer Lawrence, none of whom save their Margaux for “best.” It might have the opposite of an everyday price tag, but it”s a bag that’s designed to be toted 24/7.

The Row Margaux on the autumn/winter 2026 runway.

The Margaux has been reinterpreted in various colourways and fabrications since it was first introduced, becoming a permanent fixture in the house’s handbag offering. At the time of writing, The Row’s dedicated e-commerce site stocks 10, 12 and 15-inch sizes, in black, taupe and chocolate brown leather and suede. In the past, the bags have also been realised in a lighter, reddy brown, tan and even a gold croc-embossed style, which Kendall Jenner has carried.

The Margaux sometimes makes a cameo on seasonal runways, and for autumn/winter 2026, it arrived in slouchy black leather, with a silver buckle side strap, paired with khaki corduroy trousers and a black belted wool coat. Limited styles also occasionally feature across the department stores that stock The Row, as well as at their very-own flagships; blending in perfectly with the curated art and furniture that define their brick-and-mortar spaces in London, Los Angeles, New York and Paris.

Despite a silhouette that whispers instead of shouts with its gently-curving lines and soft profile, the Margaux is recognisable precisely because of its understated nature. In a way it’s an oxymoron: a logo-less bag (stamped only with a tiny foiled motif inside) that’s designed to fly under the radar has been anointed as a modern-day status symbol, an elegant riposte to decades of hardware that flashed, logos that boomed. This didn’t happen accidentally – it was very much intentional.

“The whole exercise was to see whether, if something was made beautifully, in great fabric, with good fit, it would sell without a logo or a name on it,” the Olsens previously explained to British of carving out their brand vision in the early aughts. “And it worked.” They started with the humble white T-shirt as their blueprint, but the same sentiment applies to every product in their arsenal – the Margaux being a prime example.

As well as its refreshingly clean-lined shape and supple construction, the handbag’s enduring appeal ultimately lies in its functionality. Unlike the micro bags that have proliferated in recent decades, this capacious tote has a grab-and-go appeal that isn’t often attributed to ultra-luxury accessories. When inspecting paparazzi shots of the bag’s celebrity following, you can notice the ease with which they carry their Margaux: slung on a shoulder on the way to the airport, or, in the case of Kendall Jenner, threaded with a jumper that has been slipped off on a warm summer’s day.

The Margaux’s keenest champions have nonchalantly carried the bag just as founders Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have towed their Birkins over the past decade which, over time, have developed a patina that boasts worn-in charm. Many will choose to keep their Margaux pristine, perhaps only releasing it from a dust bag every so often and filling it carefully as to not warp. But as evidenced by the Olsens, the Margaux only improves with age.

Given that demand currently outweighs supply (all brand-new Margaux bags are currently sold out at retailers and Therow.com), customers have turned to resale sites to try and hunt them down. There are several styles in circulation on eBay, which offers an Authenticity Guarantee, so people can buy a pre-loved product with the assurance that their item is genuine. Naturally, owing to its scarcity, this has meant that pricing varies significantly, and there are people who have invested in the Margaux with the objective to resell.

The most telling sign of the handbag’s success is that, even though the pendulum has swung away from quiet luxury towards “boom boom”, the Margaux has transformed from a cult buy into a classic handbag. This is likely because the brand’s founders don’t design in a vacuum. Instead, they’re quite literally on first name terms with their customers, anticipating their every need – and want – because they know them well.

As Mary-Kate Olsen previously told British “I feel really fortunate to be very close with those women, and they really do dictate where we go season to season […] When we design, we’re designing for specific clients… We understand what their day looks like, how and when they travel”. Their loyalists were clearly top of mind when creating the Margaux – and it shows.

Shop The Row’s Margaux bag