Explainer / How ‘quiet luxury’ became 2023’s hottest new fashion trend: the move towards understated ‘stealth wealth’ is fuelled by shows like Succession, and brands from Hermès to Armani and Loro Piana

Apr 18 , 2023

Loro Piana offers long-standing garments made from high-quality materials. Photo: Loro Piana

Like 2008’s Great Recession, this wardrobe shift is in part due to the precarious state of the economy, so people don’t want to flaunt their wealth – just ask Gwyneth Paltrow or Elon Musk’s mum, Maye

While logomania – think big, gold Gucci belt buckles and LV logo bags – previously dominated markets, this new way of dressing will benefit understated brands like Brunello Cucinelli

Quiet luxury is one of 2023’s biggest trends – and also one of the hardest to describe.

It’s one of those “you’ll know it when you see it” trends. Quiet luxury is soft and tactile, it’s beige and grey and, as Vogue put it, “it’s less austere than minimalism but more polished than ‘normcore’”.

Oh, and quiet luxury is absolutely, definitely, 100 per cent logo-less.

Now, as the trend continues to take off for spring – due in part to the popularity of shows that feature the wealthy elite, like Succession – it calls back to another economically precarious time in 2008. It’s also poised to benefit brands ranging from Everlane to Armani that have been peddling quiet luxury for years.

What exactly is “quiet luxury”?

A model presents a creation by Louis Vuitton for the women’s autumn/winter ready-to-wear collection fashion show in Paris at the Louvre Museum, in March 2017. Photo: AFP

Quiet luxury is defined as “clothing of the highest quality, but also clothing that has timelessness, is sophisticated and understated”, Thomaï Serdari, director of the fashion and luxury MBA programme at NYU’s Stern School of Business, said.

That means no big, gold Gucci belt buckles or Louis Vuitton logo handbags – items that scream “I paid a lot of money for this”. Instead, think of clothes that whisper: cashmere jumpers, silk button-downs or wool overcoats rendered in neutral tones and expensive materials.