rominence, lifestyles of the rich and famous are being illustrated across today’s media landscape. On Google, searches for quiet luxury have increased more than 614 per cent in the past year, and amassed more than 36 billion views on TikTok. The results include everything from outfit inspiration to look like you have old money, to tutorials to attract ‘high value’ partners.  But the quiet luxury trend is really nothing new. Wealthy people have worn discreet luxury brands such as Tod’s and Loro Piana for decades. For years, a distinct marker between ‘new money’ and ‘old money’ was how people spent their money. For the rich, dressing head-to-toe in logos is a badge of honour, while the wealthy find it tacky. As described by the wardrobe designer on Succession, “money talks, wealth whispers”.  The emergence of the quiet luxury trend comes at an interesting time. In the early 2000s, minimalism became popular largely as a result of the 1997 financial crisis. Crashing stock markets and inflation forced the wealthy to pare back outward displays of wealth. In some cases out of necessity, but also to avoid the prying eyes of tax agents.  This had a direct impact on fashion as designers and luxury brands translated the demand for discreet luxury onto the runway. Fast-forward to today as the economy plunges into uncertainty, could the rise of quiet luxury be a sign of what our future holds? More than meets the eye After two years of dopamine dressing, Y2K, logomania and 80s revivals, the quiet luxury trend comes in tandem with a sartorial shift. The recent Fall 2023 collections showed a myriad of more demure, modest and preppy looks.Prada, Loewe and Bottega Veneta presented elevated basics intended for small and curated capsule wardrobes. Standout pieces were tank tops, knits and maxi skirts that seem simple to the naked eye, but are exceptionally well-cut and tailored upon closer inspection.  The biggest noticeable difference from this year’s runway collections was the longer hemlines. A far cry from last year’s micro mini skirts, almost every designer had a version of the maxi cut on either skirts or dresses this year. According to fashion search engine, Tagwalk, nearly 81 per cent of designers included long dresses in their collections during the Spring/Summer 2023 collections.  Beyond being the look du jour, several luxury brands such as The Row and Khaite, which embody the quiet luxury style through and through, are also enjoying their time in the sun thanks to this trend.The best known quiet luxury label of this year is The Row, established by celebrity twins Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen. Specialising in elevated classics, the brand was started in 2006 but has recently had a jump in popularity, thanks to the booming quiet luxury trend. Prices at The Row begin from US$900 for a simple white shirt, and go up to US$15,000 for dresses.Despite the hefty price tag, the brand is a current cult favourite. Last October, when the brand held a sample sale in New York, die-hard fans queued for five hours to get their hands on The Row’s last-season items. Some of the most sought-after products included a cashmere coat that was still priced at US$2,000, despite being 80 per cent off. Quiet luxury’s poster child If The Row was the ultimate quiet luxury brand, Sofia Richie would be the face of this trend. The youngest daughter of pop singer Lionel Richie and previously part of the Kardashian family’s orbit, reinvented her entire persona with the quiet luxury trend.The social media influencer and model became famous in her late teens for mingling with Hollywood’s elite and posting scantily clad photos but lacked the star power of her peers like Kylie Jenner and Hailey Bieber. After falling off the radar for a few years, Richie returned to social media with a new look and persona that is a fundamental reason the quiet luxury trend is so popular.Her wedding to Elliot Grainge, who also hails from a wealthy music family, at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Southern France in April was touted as the wedding of the year on TikTok. The grand nuptials included three custom wedding dresses by Chanel’s haute couture team and makeup done by makeup artist to the stars, Pati Dubroff, in partnership with Nudestix (where Richie serves as beauty director).The wedding was not only extensively covered on Instagram and TikTok but also by mainstream media and fashion magazines such as Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, amassing millions of views for the brands involved. Data from Look Fantastic, a UK-based beauty company, reported searches for Nudestix products used by Richie soared by 2400 per cent after Pati Dubroff released the makeup tutorial for Richie’s look.The wedding was not only hugely successful in cementing Richie’s status in Hollywood but also a fruitful business opportunity for Chanel and Nudestix. A sign of harder times Another possible underlying reason for quiet luxury’s popularity is a less optimistic one. As mentioned earlier, one of the biggest trends off the runway is longer hemlines, and according to the hemline index, an economic theory that suggests skirts are shorter when times are happier and longer when the economy is downwards, tough times are ahead. While it’s hard to predict a recession with a hemline, the wealthy have been known to rein in their style when facing hardship. Another pop culture moment that introduced the phrase quiet luxury to everyday audiences was actress Gwyneth Paltrow’s ski crash trial. Conversations about the trial were not merely about Paltrow’s testimony, but also what she wore to the courtroom. From her US$5,000 khaki green coat from The Row to her Prada boots and Gabriela Hearst suit, onlookers were obsessed with Paltrow’s courtroom style. Sofia Bernardin, co-founder of fashion consignment destination Re-See, said that “in times of crisis luxury clients embrace a less flamboyant form of shopping.” She likens this to the months after the 2008 financial crisis,”when one would see shoppers leaving luxury shops on 5th Avenue carrying their purchases in brown paper bags.” “Extreme opulence has led luxury clients to seek refuge in a discreet luxury,” said Bernardin. She has also noticed a huge increase in demand for brands like The Row and in product categories like worn-in Hermès bags, especially for understated models like the HAC or Plume. While the fate of the economy is yet to be determined, the recession remains at the forefront of people’s minds and this is reflected in the wealthy’s shopping habits. Gab Waller, a personal shopper who specialises in rare and hard-to-find luxury goods, said that now “more than ever, my clients are interested in buying pieces that will last them a lifetime, as opposed to in recent years, when it was all about statement pieces, due to the possibility of a recession.”