Dubbed the top-trending aesthetic of 2023 by countless media titles and cultural pundits, fashion seems to have formally entered the age of ‘quiet luxury’. In the global style consciousness, this is the refresh of an aesthetic formerly known as ‘stealth wealth’: a modest pared-back look that is characterised by unshowy but high-quality (and high-price-tag) garments, imparting an ‘If you know, you know’ quality.
In its Western experience, ‘quiet luxury’ represents the very highest of upper class sensibilities, with trending hashtags like #oldmoneyoutfits proliferating on social platforms. The restrained style of dressing reflects a cultural gatekeeping of wealth and status, as seen on characters in hit TV show Succession or celebrity icon of privilege Gwyneth Paltrow’s influential courtroom looks. The hot trend now sees shoppers from across the income divide emulating aesthetics long associated with the ultra-rich, in a move that truly exemplifies aspirational consumption.
By contrast, in the contemporary history of Chinese fashion, ultra-high-net-worth shoppers have unabashedly favoured logos, maximalist styles and more irreverent aesthetics for the past three decades. Here, there has been no socio-economic gatekeeping or ‘hiding in plain sight’ when it comes to the markers of luxury style. As the ‘quiet luxury’ trend spreads among China’s consumers, does it more honestly represent a rejection of the tropes and styles of mega-wealth – rather than a sociologically confusing emulation, as in the case of its international counterpart?
The trend hits at a time when the luxury market in China has reached a moment of flux. On one hand, the industry has bounced back from a long period of restrictive COVID policy. However, analysts including Edouard Aubin of the Luxury Goods Team at Morgan Stanley, note that this rebound has been driven by wealthy shoppers simply spending more, rather than a larger movement in the market.
While a resurgence in middle-class spending is hoped for later in the year, this remains to be seen as China’s overall economy remains sluggish and luxury goods reach increasingly high rates of price inflation. Brands including Chanel, Dior, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Saint Laurent have all significantly hiked prices in China since 2021. An entry-level iconic Chanel Classic Flap handbag that retailed for 38,000 RMB in 2019 is now sold for almost double the price at 71,800 RMB.
It hasn’t gone unnoticed. Many of China’s young professionals and style-lovers feel shut out from luxury fashion. What was a realistic aspiration for the upwardly mobile just several years ago is now a pipe dream beyond reach, and joins the list of grievances affecting a generation of young middle-class Chinese; from the demanding ‘996’ rat-race working culture, to stagnant wage growth, rising inflation, an unaffordable property ladder, increased content censorship. This climate has birthed reactionary cultural trends such as the tanping or ‘lying flat’ movement, and other iterations of ‘quiet quitting’.
It makes sense that the relationship to be had with luxury is changing. A reverence for status symbols is now joined by more populist critical perspectives, as seen in the growing topic on social media that sees netizens calling out luxury brands for rude and dismissive customer service in their stores, giving preferential treatment to wealthy VIPs at other shoppers’ expense. A content creator on RED is known for his comical viral video impersonating sales staff in designer boutiques.
