How Quiet Luxury is Redefining Fashion

Are branded outfits losing their relevance in luxury fashion? 

It has previously been a trend on social media and reality for people to desire wearing name brands due to the fact that it creates a perception to people that you are wealthy or well-to-do financially but in recent trends people are discuss about the fashion choices of the world’s billionaireswho are the one percent of the one percent in terms of financial capability and are wealthier than most of the world’s population.

Brands like Gucci, Versace and Louis Vuitton are popular brands desired by many due the affluent nature of exclusivity and unaffordability attached to the brands. For those who want to show off their wealth, these brands would mostly be their fashion choices because they are easily recognizable and have their logo all over them which signifies luxury. Recently, certain brands that are logo-less and might not be as popular as Gucci or Versace have started to gain attention among the luxury fashion shoppers and admirers. These brands like Loro piana and Brunello Cucinelli would likely not be recognized by people when asked about luxury fashion brands but these brands are indeed luxury but chose not to be as loud as their counterparts.

Mark Zuckerberg trademark outfit.

For instance, it was shocking for many to discover that Facebook’s founder Mark Zuckerberg, who appeared to people as a humble and down-to-earth character because he seems not to associate himself with trendy expensive things and was popular for always wearing a grey shirt and blue jeans was actually wearing a Loro Pianacashmere grey shirt that cost over three hundred dollars, which now appears to not be as cheap as the public thought it was. 

Thomai Serdari

Outfits like Loro Piana which seems to be a favorite of billionaires are referred to as quiet luxury brands. Quiet luxury brands according to Thomai Serdari, director of the fashion and luxury MBA program at NYU's Stern School of Business in a Business Insider article, said quiet luxury is defined as "clothing of the highest quality, but also clothing that has timelessness, is sophisticated and understated". 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 sweaters, silk button-downs, or wool overcoats rendered in neutral tones and expensive materials. And have everything expertly fitted, "because someone has taken the time to design the structure of the garment, as opposed to something that is disposable and is made to sell only as a two-dimensional product," like fast-fashion.

The difference between popular luxury fashion brands like Gucci and quiet luxury brands like Loro piana is mostly Logo and quality, The popular luxury brands would have their logos branded all over their products while the quiet luxury brands will probably not but would be focused on producing quality products that people would be willing to pay a large sum for due to materials used in making them and the time taken.

Quiet luxury has now become a topic that has led to debates on social media on what luxury fashion truly is. Is luxury meant to make you look expensive and let everyone know you are rich or is it a style that provides you with materials that are of great quality and comfort? Regardless of what opinion you might support, the trend of quiet luxury brands was borne out of the desire for quality, having it that brands like Loro Piana would have outfits made out of materials like cashmere which is going to stay for a very long time and also be comfortable for anyone to wear but the other brands that have an expensive name might not really use top quality material and these piece of clothing purchased from them might lose its value in a short time.

A model in Loro piana outfit.

It will have to become the choice of a buyer either to choose a brand that will give you some sort of recognition due to the public’s perception of you being wealthy or having to invest in a brand that most people might not have heard of, would not have any logo to show people that what you are wearing is expensive but would rather put its attention on giving you quality that will last for years to come.