If You Know YOU Know

If there is one phrase that perfectly captures quiet luxury, it is 'money talks, wealth whispers'

- RUCHIKA MEHTA

FROM HOLLYWOOD'S SHINING stars to the world’s renowned fashion designers, ‘quiet luxury’ is becoming all the rage, not just for women but among men, too. It represents a return to elegance and subtlety, far removed from the once dominant display of ostentatious logos and grandiosity.

This year, quiet luxury has been one of the biggest buzzwords: So often used in common parlance about discreetly tasteful high spending that it has been loudly satirised on social media. Google searches for the term grew by 337% in April 2024 alone. ‘New-age minimalism’ and ‘coded luxury’ are two of the most common definitions we’ve seen bandied around. But they paint just half the picture.

Its recent history can be traced all the way back to the early decades of the last century, when Coco Chanel’s chequered tweed and the ‘little black dress’ became symbols of style, and chic classicism ruled. And then there was the legendary Yves Saint Laurent (YSL), who exemplified ‘chic’ness in every garment and accessory. At that point in time, what is quiet luxury today was termed ‘chic.’

The sudden resurgence of this trend in fashion circuits can be traced to the famous HBO series Succession, which was at the cutting edge of the quiet luxury trend, just like Sex and the City did in its day (1998 onwards) for brands like Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Jimmy Choo, Fendi, etc., which were worn to be seen. The popularity of the series gave those brands a leg up. Succession’s characters, especially Shiv Roy (played