The Wall Street Journal’s February review of the Milan fashion show declared, “Everyone goes beyond ‘quiet luxury.'” This is a fashion trend that emphasizes understated elegance and quality over displays of wealth and flashy logos.
“‘Quiet luxury’ has become a bit of a dirty word in Milan,” writes Rory Satran, executive fashion director at Business magazine. “To some of the Italian brands that embody this term, the term is reductive, an overly TikTok-y way of describing classic, sophisticated clothing. People in the fashion industry roll their eyes.”
But new research from e-commerce logistics provider Radial points to its continued appeal. “Quiet luxury has long been a fashion principle for the wealthy, but as consumers seek to extract maximum value and longevity from their apparel purchases and realize the value of sustainability,” Radial said in its research, “quiet luxury has long been a fashion principle for the wealthy. “Quiet luxury now appeals to a wider market.”
This term of quiet luxury, also known as “stealth wealth,” will begin to be cited in 2023, with some calling it the sophistication worn by Goop founder and actress Gwyneth Paltrow during her skiing accident trial last March. It goes back to the clothing worn and the old money look that was showcased. During the final season of HBO’s “Succession.”
Some see this trend as a return to the shift away from conspicuous consumption, such as logo-heavy and overt looks, seen in the post-2008 recession. Denim Dudes founder Amy Leverton told Sourcing Journal: “We believe this is a reflection of the 2008 market crash. Financial uncertainty has caused consumers to become more intentional with their purchases and reduce the amount they buy. That’s when I started to gravitate toward quieter, higher-quality clothing.”
In addition to more people living paycheck to paycheck, a new generation of consumers who value sustainability and ethical sourcing is expected to drive the purchase of products that last longer.
Thomai Serdari, professor of marketing and director of the Fashion Luxury Program at New York University’s Stern School of Business, believes quiet luxury is the antithesis of fast fashion. “This is a new way of thinking that will make quiet luxury last a little longer,” Serdari told CNBC.
Other factors driving this trend, Kanter cited, include increasing protests against inequality, which “further condemns displays of wealth,” and “increasing access and visibility” to products perceived as luxury. Examples include the role of online influencers in “democratization.”
This trend is increasingly influencing interior design and vacation choices.
Nevertheless, a small number of fashion insiders feel that trends are always changing, and many predict a resurgence of flashy and flamboyant fashion.
In April, Valentino hired former Gucci creative chief Alessandro Michele, known for his use of sparkle and bold prints, in anticipation of a trend toward edgier design. “We know that quiet luxury has become popular in recent years,” Valentino chairman Rashid Mohamed Rashid told Bloomberg TV. My guess is this will end.”
“Changes are occurring in fashion,” Vanessa Friedman, the New York Times’ chief fashion critic, wrote in late February. “The safe, enveloping allure of quiet luxury, a kind of indulgence that was as local a specialty as a Milanese risotto, is becoming less and less important. A neutral approach, one that is no longer influenced by conventional wisdom.”The growing urgency of the world. It seems more like surrender than a panacea. ”
