The Row Unisex Classic Flats – 8 Iconic Pairs, Made in Italy

This article only covers The Row shoe styles that are available for both men and women. Generally, unisex styles tend to be more classic, and they're all flat shoes, making them more durable and practical. I personally don't like sandals, high heels, and high-heeled boots, so I'm skipping those shoe types.

I've already written about the classic The Row Ballet Flats for women, so I won't elaborate on them here. Women also have two nice classic boot styles, but since men don't have many boots, I won't introduce those either.

This collection of The Row flat shoes includes loafers, slip-on shoes, sneakers, etc., showcasing The Row's distinctive shoe designs. The Row leather shoes typically cost over 10,000 RMB, and all footwear is made in Italy. The few shoes under 10,000 RMB are sneakers made of viscose and polyester fabrics, not leather shoes.

Unless specifically noted below, all styles are unisex. In addition to the 8 classic unisex flat shoes, I've also compiled discontinued shoe styles from over the years and new shoes for the entire 2024 season (which may not be produced again). You'll notice that The Row's discontinued shoes and some new shoes imitate currently popular shoe styles without much of The Row's unique character, so they're only produced for one season before gradually disappearing.

Shoes for 2025 are typically produced in late 2024 and haven't been widely released yet. Therefore, I'll only introduce the 2024 styles.

Classic

A compilation of The Row's classic styles that have been continuously produced and promoted for at least 2 years, consistently available on the official website, and frequently seen popular styles on social media with a strong Row aesthetic.

Loafer

The Row's most classic and representative sold-out style is the 100% eel leather soft loafer, available in black and brown.

These shoes were heavily promoted in the 2022 SS Women's collection, and they were still being worn in the 2024 SS Men's Lookbook.
Because they're featured in Lookbooks, some special colors are produced in limited quantities for certain seasons.

The second classic loafer is the novus loafer, which, although no longer on the official website, was released for two years. They're still available at Mr. Porter and Mytheresa. Also available in black and brown, they're made of calfskin. The Row generally uses calf leather for their leather shoes, with some using standard cowhide (including suede) and kidskin.

The novus loafer was featured in both men's and women's collections in The Row's 2023 Pre-Fall and 2024 FW series.

Slip On

The Row has released two ultra-thin flat slip-on shoe styles multiple times.
The most classic is the canal slip on, which ties with the soft loafer as the bestselling shoe style. It comes in black and gray-green colors, and is made of standard cowhide.

The canal slip-on was prominently featured in the 2022 SS men's collection.

It appeared again in the 2024 Summer women's collection. This shoe style is also the most imitated by various brands.

Another elastic slip-on style is the lucca slip on in red and black colors, still available on the official website, made of 100% calfskin.

Both male and female models wore them in The Row's 2023 SS collection.

They continued to be produced for 2024 SS.

The distinctive feature of the Lucca series shoes is their wrinkles.
The lace-up lucca mocassin was released in 2023 SS but can now only be found on certain websites as it was discontinued due to poor sales.

On the left is 2023 FW, on the right is 2025 FW, with a shoe style similar to the Lucca but with added tassels. Currently, this style isn't available on the official website or any platforms, and it's unknown whether it will be produced. Some shoes that appear multiple times in Lookbooks don't necessarily go into mass production.

Lace Up

There are 3 suede lace-up flat shoes: the first is tyler lace up, the second is lucca lace up, and the third is awar lace up. The first two are unisex, while the latter is only for women.
tyler lace up has sheepskin fur on the inside and suede on the outside, with waxed cotton laces that enhance water resistance.

Available in 2 colors, this style was released in 2024 SS and sold out in winter 2024. It will likely be available again next year. The shoe design is distinctive, and even though it's new, I consider it a representative style.

Another style, the lucca lace up, was also featured in 2024 SS Lookbooks, but for some reason isn't on the official website. The image below was found on SSENSE.

Finally, there's the awar lace up, currently only available in women's styles and sold on the official website. It's considered a trendy style.

Sneaker

The Row's sam sneaker was also quite common on social media 1-2 years ago. It's unisex but has been removed from the official website, though still available on other platforms and in offline stores. It's recognizable as a The Row design, similar to the lace-up and slip-on styles, with a somewhat monastic appearance.
This shoe appeared in the 2023 FW men's collection, though in a special Lookbook color.

Eliminated

Compiling some styles that were eliminated due to poor sales and styles that only existed in the Lookbook. The Row fisherman sandal appeared in the 2020 and 2021 men's Lookbook, but because it didn't sell well, the men's version has been discontinued. Only the women's version of this shoe remains, and overall this shoe hasn't been particularly popular.

Photo found on SSENCE

Another shoe that has disappeared is the Kay square-toe derby shoe, currently only found on some niche websites, and since it's from a few years ago, it's also on sale. This shoe style has been upgraded to the novus derby with a more upturned and rounded toe, which is detailed below.

Almost all of the SS 2023 menswear featured this derby shoe. Of course, it was also available in both men's and women's versions.

The Ghillies shoes released in SS 2024 were never produced again, as market response was mediocre.

Scottish Ghillies shoes were most popular in the 1940s-1960s, used in both men's and women's leather shoes and ballet slippers. Like Scottish Tartan , they haven't been popular in the last 20-30 years.

The Row Grant boots (women's only) that I bought should also have adopted a similar Ghillies-style opening, but it's not interlaced. It's similar to the the row awar lace up, but with an opening, like an Oxford shoe with an open effect, very similar to Berluti's Oxford shoes, both being whole cut Oxfords.

This style is no longer being produced, as its design was a bit too avant-garde.

2024

The main push for SS 2024 was the cary loafer, V1 is just a color code so don't worry about it. The cary loafer is still available on the official website in both black and brown. The material is 100% calfskin with vegetable dye. The design feature is a vertical line in the middle, which I think makes the shoe unattractive. That vertical line is like a philtrum, not good-looking. Sales and popularity have indeed been average, so they probably won't be produced again.

The cary loafer appeared in both men's and women's SS 2024 Lookbooks.

SS 2024 vasko slide, not seen on the official website, and no information can be found. Similar to Birkenstock shoes, likely won't be produced.

SS 2024 pierre derby shoes also can't be found for sale anywhere, possibly because the season has passed and they have been discontinued.

FW 2024 new Novus derby shoes

Official website shows dark brown, but they actually come in black as well.

These shoes frequently appear in the FW 2024 men's lookbook, though they are unisex shoes.

To differentiate between Oxford and Derby shoes, the core difference is whether the laces can open. Derby shoes can open, originally because the Duke of Derby had feet that were too wide for closed Oxford shoes, so the shoemaker invented derby shoes with adjustable lacing.

Another pair, the Nobilis ankle boots, frequently appears in FW 2024. The design is very simple, reminding me somewhat of Marsell's Muller shoes.

The upper has been specially polished, making it look very smooth and shiny.

FW 2024 men's Lookbook

Epilogue

Overall, The Row shoes use the best leather quality, with polishing, hand-stitched edges, and other craftsmanship details done properly. The quality of the leather shoes is evident even from the pictures. I personally like The Row's various flat shoes for their practicality, which is why I've compiled this information about these mostly unisex shoes. Unfortunately, The Row's sales channels in the Chinese market are still primarily focused on women's clothing and shoes, making it difficult to try on men's shoes in person.

Although these unisex shoes from The Row are considered gender-neutral, The Row men's styles are more oriented toward young, artistic men. This youthful, artistic male style is evident not only in their menswear (The Row Menswear ) but also in their men's shoes.

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