Was Quiet Luxury a Genuine Trend or Manufactured?

[ghostwriter10549]

I just saw this headline at WWD, and I wonder: was quiet luxury really an organic trend that fashion as a whole experienced, or was it just a narrative put out there for people to follow? Because one thing about a real trend is that a publication like WWD just cannot go and say it's over somehow.

 

[tigerrouge]

What is a "real trend"?

These days, a trend is something that gets picked up and done to death on social media, where a look can become so ubiquitous that people tire of it before long.

Then there are microtrends, which aren't real trends, they're just another part of the current obsession for applying a label to every possible aspect of human experience.

Trends, in terms of product lifecycle, are when the spotlight of sudden popularity will cause a product to sell out, at which point, most companies think they can take their customers for a ride, and will restock the products at a steadily higher price, while also sourcing materials/employing work practices of increasingly lower quality, until eventually the consumer catches on that paying thousands for the designer equivalent of fast fashion is not worth the money, because very little of the process resembles a "luxury" experience.

 

[Alquimista]

Maybe it was a label that people fixed on a assortments of other trends that signaled restraint and more conscious consumer pratices.

In fashion in my view there was a real movement towards the minimal, the discrete, etc. For example, prints are totally out of fashion for quite some time. You see one designer here and there trying to revive it but it doesn't stick. Solid colours reign absolute. A lot of play with textures, fabrics too. But this season I noticed more decoration, patterns. Let's see if it sticks.

Edit: Let's not forget the miu miu skirt which is still being imitated from top luxury to shein.

 

[philophile]

'Quiet luxury' has been around since (at least) 2014, at the time when there were still minimalist 'fashion bloggers' and it has been 'in' since then in niche circles. Some of it came in the form of normcore, other in the form of more elevated minimalism, it's just that some idiotic TikToker suddenly decided to rename it two years ago and the whole fashion industry followed (read Vogue, etc), because it was a catchy name that happened to bring sales. Tiktokers are renaming nowadays every single style that previously existed while they were wearing pigtails for school for the sake of going viral. What is upsetting is that people actually fall for the (click)bait. Minimalism has always been about having timeless, high quality clothes over quantity.

I know I'm going to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but I believe that due to the economic crisis that has been unleashing since the pandemic and due to an economic system that requires from companies to endlessly grow, fashion conglomerates have decided to increase profits by making fashion 'simpler', definitely NOT to be more 'sustainable', but in order to save on materials, pattern making, etc, that's why it's so convenient now more than ever that 'quiet luxury' becomes a global trend. The latter is why I also believe it won't go away anytime soon.

Quiet luxury can be both a good thing and a bad thing. It can be a good thing if you are not a fashion person and will just stick to timeless high quality basics. It can be a bad thing if you 'invest' in an Agnona sweater, yet you never wear it, but instead still wear your sequined sweater multiple times more. Sticking to whatever you wear the most being it printed, textured, or whatever distinctive non basic or basic resonates with you is the most realistic approach (and most sustainable too), simply because 'capsule wardrobes' and 'basics' are a marketing myth absolutely detached from what people actually really wear daily. Lastly, the worst problem with quiet luxury is that it is a nondescript type of fashion (not arguing that it can also ironically be some sort of status symbol), that turns everyone into a clone, when expressing your individuality through fashion is a form of freedom.

 

[Nimsay]

its the same as it ever was. YUPPIEs desperate to take on the interests and behaviors of the upper class to ingratiate themselves...nothing worse than being tasteless bourgeoisie. at least the working class build...

whatever they see some billionaire doing, they run to do it... as if the billionaire will see them and think 'twinsies'...

Quiet Luxury is a trend from the 90s. The 90s had that sort of slim down look... I just think its so corny and cliche and again.

its just again the bourgeoisie being late and annoying the jet set. i have been wearing like exotic perfumes for a decade but now these bourgeoisie realize that exotic perfume is a status symbol and now we have Mackinleighs wearing Creed with their denim shorts and golden goose.

All it has done is pushed me to bring out my custom perfume ...

 

[LenaLena]

I just saw this headline at WWD, and I wonder: was quiet luxury really an organic trend that fashion as a whole experienced, or was it just a narrative put out there for people to follow? Because one thing about a real trend is that a publication like WWD just cannot go and say it's over somehow.

View attachment 1313393

Quiet luxury is not going anywhere, because it's more than just-another trend.
It may not be "creative" but this is the way old money has been dressing for ages.
"New money" people with some taste are slowly getting into buying real life investment pieces too.
As a consumer attitude Quiet Luxury is a BIG problem for the rest of the luxury industry

Cuccineli , The Row & LVMH owned Loro Piana are at the core of the "not-trend"

Brunello Cucinelli continued to buck the luxury slowdown in the first half of 2024: sales rose 14.1 per cent year-on-year to €620.7 million, the brand announced on Tuesday. Operating income grew 19.3 per cent, to €104.6 million. Margins grew to 16.9 per cent, up from 16.1 per cent in the same period last year.

In August 2024, loropiana.com in the FASHION AND APPAREL industry generated $7,467,268 in online sales revenue with a conversion rate of 0.50-1.00% and an Average Order Value (AOV) of $775-800. The site had 1,225,989 sessions, while the top performer in the industry was.

A deal in line with those multiples would suggest The Row has revenues of at least $250 million and operating profit north of $60 million. That's in line with a Financial Times report that estimated the brand's sales between $250 and $300 million.Sep 13, 2024

 

[Alquimista]

Quiet luxury is not going anywhere, because it's more than just-another trend.
It may not be "creative" but this is the way old money has been dressing for ages.
"New money" people with some taste are slowly getting into buying real life investment pieces too.
As a consumer attitude Quiet Luxury is a BIG problem for the rest of the luxury industry

Cuccineli , The Row & LVMH owned Loro Piana are at the core of the "not-trend"

who is this old money? is it real or a middle class fantasy?

its the same as it ever was. YUPPIEs desperate to take on the interests and behaviors of the upper class to ingratiate themselves...nothing worse than being tasteless bourgeoisie. at least the working class build...

whatever they see some billionaire doing, they run to do it... as if the billionaire will see them and think 'twinsies'...

Quiet Luxury is a trend from the 90s. The 90s had that sort of slim down look... I just think its so corny and cliche and again.

its just again the bourgeoisie being late and annoying the jet set. i have been wearing like exotic perfumes for a decade but now these bourgeoisie realize that exotic perfume is a status symbol and now we have Mackinleighs wearing Creed with their denim shorts and golden goose.

All it has done is pushed me to bring out my custom perfume ...

I see the obssesion with old money as a middle class thing.

 

[EDEN21]

As other users have pointed out, the idea of classic, minimalistic luxury goods that signify "old money" has been a category in fashion since at least the 80s.

I think the recent repackaging of this idea into the microtrend "quiet luxury" coincides with the popularity of the "clean-girl aesthetic" trend that has swept young (20-30 yrs) women attempting to signify maturity, taste and financial independence. The main features of this aesthetic are adjacent to "old money": neutrals, sweaters, boots, gold jewelry, emphasis on minimalism.

As for the psychological reasons for the trend's recent re-emergence, i think as social media has made people more obsessed with appearing wealthy, they've realized that buying the Zara version of basic staples (i.e. a fake cashmere sweater) is much more convincing to the undiscerning eye than fake monogram items.

 

[LenaLena]

As for the psychological reasons for the trend's recent re-emergence, i think as social media has made people more obsessed with appearing wealthy, they've realized that buying the Zara version of basic staples (i.e. a fake cashmere sweater) is much more convincing to the undiscerning eye than fake monogram items.

Quite luxury is the antidote to busy / show off / ephemeral culture.
It's a normal reaction to the tired look-at-me & buy-till-you-die attitudes
So you can now find "cashmere/merino"pieces in 'better' mass/fast fashion chains

 

[visvim2001]

It’s more rubbish from the fashion press; pay no heed. My personal take is that quiet luxury is an important approach to creating a lasting wardrobe - not necessarily fashionable - but it is nothing if not instructive. Why? Because it has made me, as a dude, pay more attention to the quality and provenance of garments. Texture, hand feel, attention to detail, colour wheel theory, a classic cut…these are the foundations of style, which of course the mass couture houses hate. If a member of the top 1% cares about what I, a member of the affluent middle wears, I’d suggest they’re neurotic. I mean, it doesn’t even make a lot of sense, because Ralph and Giorgio have been around for so long. The rich may sneer because people are co-opting their manner of dress, but at the end of the day they will find other ways to gatekeep the hoi polloi regardless.

I recently bought a Cucinelli cashseta jumper and it gets worn twice weekly. Softest thing ever, beautiful knit, easy to mix and match with cheaper pieces. Would you rather I dropped the money on some Dior cotton/poly abomination, or perhaps a Rhude trucker with patches?