FRAEM
July 15, 2025
Interview Sofia
Richie Grainge Shares Her
Go- To Outfit
Formula And Ultimate Fashion Icon
- Madeline hirsch
the quiet rise of quiet luxury - hype of the future?
- marcel melzig
The Quiet Rise of Quiet Luxury - Hype or the Future?
Loud Logos Are Out. Stealth Wealth Is In.
For years, luxury fashion was a shouting match. Oversized logos plastered across chests, bags emblazoned with monograms, and hype-fueled collaborations — like Supreme x Louis Vuitton or Gucci’s maximalist renaissance — dominated the scene. The formula was straightforward: bigger, bolder, and more branded equaled more desirable. Status wasn’t just worn; it was broadcasted. Now, the tide has turned. In 2024, the wealthiest consumers — those who don’t need to prove anything to anyone — are flipping the script. The ultimate power move today? Wearing something so subtle, so refined, that only those “in the know” catch the signal. Call it quiet luxury, stealth wealth, or understated opulence — this shift is rewriting the rules of the game. But is this a permanent redefinition of luxury, or just another fleeting turn in fashion’s endless cycle? Let’s dive in.
The Era of Loud Logos: A Look Back
Luxury wasn’t always quiet. For decades, it thrived on visibility. In the early 2000s, logomania hit its peak — think Louis Vuitton’s Takashi Murakami multicolored monograms or Gucci’s double-G belts flashing from every hip. The 2010s doubled down with streetwear collabs and hype drops, turning luxury into a performance of excess. Balenciaga’s Triple S sneakers and Versace’s baroque prints became trophies of taste, signaling wealth through sheer audacity. This worked — until it didn’t. As logos became ubiquitous, their exclusivity eroded. Affordable knockoffs flooded the market, and entry-level branded accessories (think keychains or wallets) brought luxury to the masses. What was once a marker of elite status morphed into a commodity, leaving the ultra-wealthy searching for a new way to stand apart.
Why Quiet Luxury Is Winning
Today, luxury isn’t about shouting to the crowd — it’s about whispering to the right people. The ultra-rich are trading logo-heavy flexes for pieces that exude quality, craftsmanship, and timelessness. Here’s why this shift is resonating in 2024:
Discreet, High-Quality Craftsmanship Over Logo-Heavy Designs
Brands like Loro Piana don’t need logos — they let their materials do the talking. Take their vicuña wool, sourced from Andean highlands at $2,000 per yard, or their baby cashmere, harvested from Mongolian goat kids. It’s luxury you feel, not see— a secret handshake for connoisseurs. While exact 2024 sales aren’t public, their last reported revenue of €1 billion in 2019 likely grew, given their alignment with the quiet luxury boom.
Tailored, Timeless Pieces Instead of Trend-Driven Statements
The Row, founded by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, has mastered this. Their $5,000 cashmere coats lack branding, yet their precise ailoring and buttery fabrics scream sophistication. As a private company, sales figures aren’t disclosed, but their 2024 sample
sale in NYC saw lines stretching 26 hours, per social media buzz, signaling insatiable demand.
Heritage and Exclusivity Over Mass-Market Appeal
Brunello Cucinelli leans on its Italian roots, employing Umbrian artisans to handcraft sweaters retailing for $3,000+. It’s a story of tradition and scarcity, and it’s paying off — 2024 revenues hit €1.28 billion, up 12.2% from 2023, defying the luxury slowdown.The data backs this up. LVMH’s fashion group, including quiet luxury stars like Celine and Loewe, contributed to the conglomerate’s €63.5 billion in 2024 sales (up 9%). Meanwhile, Kering’s Bottega Veneta held steady at €1.5 billion, down 10% but resilient with its no-logo intrecciato bags (starting at $2,800). Even Gucci, once logomania’s poster child, saw a stark 23% sales drop to €7.7 billion in 2024 as it pivots to a subtler aesthetic under Sabato De Sarno. So, is this a backlash to logo fatigue — or a deeper evolution in what luxury means?
The Driving Forces Behind Quiet Luxury
This isn’t just a fashion whim; it’s a response to seismic cultural and economic shifts in 2024. Here are the key drivers:
1. Wealth Gap & Economic Uncertainty
The ultra-rich are richer than ever. Forbes’ 2023 Billionaires List hit 2,640 names with $12.2 trillion — likely higher by 2024 as wealth concentrated further. Meanwhile, the middle class shrank, battered by inflation. This divide splits luxury into two lanes: logo-driven status. or aspirational buyers, and stealth wealth for the elite who don’t need to flex. Hermès, with €15.2 billion in 2024 sales (up 15%), thrives here — its $12,000 Birkin bags are discreet indulgences, free of social baggage.
2. The End of Hype Culture?
The hype machine — think Balenciaga’s $2,000 sneakers or Gucci’s logo-soaked tracksuits — ran out of steam in 2024. Consumers, especially Gen Z and Millennials, are savvier, with social media exposing overhyped drops as gimmicks. gimmicks. A 2023 McKinsey report noting 62% of luxury buyers prioritize “authenticity” holds true — Hermès’ waitlist-driven model and Bottega Veneta’s €1.5 billion (down 10%) prove craftsmanship outlasts clout.
3. Pop Culture’s Influence Hollywood’s on board. Succession’s Shiv Roy rocked Loro Piana knits and Max Mara coats, logo-free power moves.
Gwyneth Paltrow’s 2023 courtroom looks with The Row and Celine turned legal drama into a quiet luxury showcase. Beyoncé’s 2023 Renaissance Tour swapped Versace glitz for custom Loewe minimalism. In 2024, this mindset deepened — understatement is radical in a TikTokflex world, making privacy the ultimate luxury.
Who Wins, Who Loses?
The 2024 shift redrew the luxury map. Here’s who’s thriving — and who’s scrambling:
Winning Brands
Loro Piana, Brunello Cucinelli, The Row
Stealth wealth pioneers are cashing in. Loro Piana’s €1 billion (2019, likely higher in 2024) reflects its material mastery. Brunello Cucinelli’s €1.28 billion (up 12.2%) and The Row’s sold-out $6,500 Margaux totes show quiet luxury’s dominance.
Bottega Veneta
Under Matthieu Blazy, Bottega’s logo-free bags held €1.5 billion in 2024 sales (down 10%), proving subtlety sells even in a tough market.
Hermès
The OG of understated luxury, Hermès soared to €15.2 billion (up 15%), sticking to artisanal roots while others floundered.
Struggling Brands
Balenciaga
Once hype’s king with $1,000 hoodies, Balenciaga’s 2024 sales (part of Kering’s €3.5 billion “Other Houses,” down 9%) reflect a rocky pivot post-2022 scandal.
Gucci
After Alessandro Michele’s logo reign, Gucci’s 2024 reboot tanked — €7.7 billion, down 23%. De Sarno’s quieter vision struggles to stick.
Burberry
Flat at €3.4 billion in fiscal 2024, Burberry’s upmarket shift under Daniel Lee lags, caught between heritage and hype.
Is Quiet Luxury the Future — or Just a Trend?
Fashion loves a pendulum swing — 1980s glitz to 1990s minimalism, then 2000s logomania. Are we just in the “quiet” phase before excess returns?
Maybe — but 2024 hints at permanence:
Sustainability: A 2023 Bain report (still relevant) says 70% of luxury buyers want eco-friendly options. Timeless pieces like a $4,000 Cucinelli blazer outlast fast fashion.
Digital Fatigue: In an always-on world, discretion is the flex — Hermès’ €15.2 billion proves it.
Economic Polarization: Wealth concentration (Forbes’ $12.2 trillion in 2023, likely more in 2024) pushes the elite away from mass-market logos.
Yet fashion’s fickle. Gen Z, raised on Supreme drops, might reignite hype. Still, a 2023 Vogue Business survey (45% of 18–24-year-olds valuing “craftsmanship” over “visibility”) suggests staying power.
What’s Next?
Quiet luxury ruled 2024, but fashion never sits still.
Brands like Hermès (€15.2 billion, up 15%) and Brunello Cucinelli (€1.28 billion, up 12.2%) — built on timelessness — will endure. For logo giants like Gucci (€7.7 billion, down 23%), the reset is now or never.
- Marcel Melzig
Sofia Richie Grainge Shares Her Go-
To
By: Madeline Hirsch
Outfit Formula and Ultimate Fashion Icon
Where She Starts Planning
Her Outfits
“How I’m feeling that day or sometimes a favorite jewelry or fashion piece I’ve recently purchased. Sculpted Bable has become a staple piece for my wardrobe. Whether I’m wearing a T-shirt and jeans or getting dressed up for a night out with Elliott, ‘ll wear a few rings or bracelts from the collection. Something about the high-quality feel and look of the bracelet gives me confidence and makes me feel powerful.”
The Outfit She’ll Never Forget
“Probably the Rodarte dress I got engaged in!”
Her Ultimate Fashion Icon
“Jackie Kennedy.”
The Last Thing She Adds to Her Outfit Before Heading Out the Door
“Perfume and a pair of sunglasses.”
Her Easy Outfit Formula
“Jeans, a T-shirt, and a pair of Chanel slingbacks is my goto outfit.”
The Trend She’s Loving Right Now
“Stacking and layering jewelry - I absolutely love it! It’s so fun to mix and match pieces and create an artistic moment out of various metals, gems, and styles. I’m often wearing six or seven bracelets and a few necklaces at a time.”
Her Style in Three Words
“Timeless, elegant, graceful.”
How Her Style Has Changed Over Time
“My style has evolved over the years, but day-to-day, I’m pretty consistent. I love simple and timeless looks and tend to pull style inspiration from art and music. I gravitate torwards pieces that feel effortlessly chic and classic.”
By Kristen Nichols
Medium Hobo Bag
$ 1700
Width: 16 inches
Height: 7 inches
toteme t-lock leather clutch
$990
Min. Strap length:
35.4 inches
Handle Drop: 5.9 inches
Depth: 3.5 inches
Max. Strap Length: 40.6 inches
Height: 5.5 inches
Width: 10.2 inches
bottega veneta
small acro tote in camel
Celine classique triomphe bag in shiny calfskin
$4150
Length: 9 inches
Height: 2 inches
Width: 6 inches
hermes psom mini kelly sellier
$32,995
Handle Drop: 2 inches
Max Strap Length: 19 inches
Lenght: 7.5 inches
Height: 5 inches
Width: 2.25 inches
$3,700
Handle Drop: 5.9 inches
Depth: 4.5 inches
Height: 7.9 inches
Width: 11.8
prada re-edition 1995
brushed-leather large handbag
$4,100
Height: 5.9 inches
Width: 8.6 inches
Length: 2.5 inches
toteme t-locked textured-leather shoulder bag
$1390
Min. Strap Length: 35.4 inches
Handle Drop: 4.3 inches
Depth: 5.1 inches
Max. Strap Length: 41.3 inches
Height: 7.1 inches
Width: 13.8 inches
$2,300
Length: 7.5 inches
Height: 1.6 inches
Width: 5.5 inches
Toteme
Elin Kling founnded Toteme with her art-director partner Karl Lindman in 2014 off the back of the success of her fashion magazine Style by Kling. The brand atarted with a “uniform” apporach, creating well-designed basics tath echoed a distinct Scandinavian minimalism while sellig them at an accessible price point. Toteme has since pushed into more upmarket territory, showing at New York Fasion Week for SS25 with a collection of fluid, drapey silhouetted. The brand has found a niche in elevated wardrobe staples with a subtle edgesuch as its bestselling scart coat and billowing striped roll-neck sweater.
Dusan
Serbian-born Dusan Paunovic might be one of Milan’s most underrated designers. Since 1999, he has been creating refined designs at odds with the fashion capital’s flashy sensibilities, and has a loyal base of customer. Paunovic started his careen in the ‘90s at Zoran, where he learnt that minimalism was not a sttyle but a philosophy, and his readyto-wear has followed: his signature tailored coat has barely changed since its inception, while his relaxed trousers balance form and function.
Modern Masters Minimalism
- Jessica Beresford
Tove
Founders Camille Perry and Holly Wright are a rarity on the London Fashion Week calendar, showing sleek, wearable clothes in a city that more readily champions the avant-garde. The ex-Topshop employees founded Tove in 2019 an dquickly found an audience for their sharp suiting, sculptural coats and elegant eveningwear that plays with subtle embellishments and transparent details. While the brand has had a hit with its denim, it is perhaps best known for its dresses, such as teh Ceres - a sleeveless summer frock with ruching and ties at the front - and the twistfront Jessa.
Khaite
In 2019, actor Katie Holmes was photographed walking around New York wearing a cashmere cardigan and matching bra by Khaite; the subsequent interest transformed the brand’s fortunes. Since then, designer Catherine Holstein has grown Khaite, which she founded in 2016, into a key player in New York, creating minimalist silhouttes with a decidedly feminine touch. As Holstein told the FT in 2020: “It’s really hard for me to get dressed up... I don’t want to feel like a cupcake.” With seven stores globally and recent investment from growth equity firm Stripes, Khaite is fast besoming a major American luxury brand.
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