After quiet luxury
When clothes stop whispering, the question of distinction remains. A commentary from the archive.
Let us be clear about what quiet luxury was: not modesty, but snobbery with impeccable manners. Distinction without visible evidence; anonymous cashmere; a cut reserved for those who already knew. In other words, a password, and the satisfaction of holding the key. We praised it as taste. First, it was a boundary, drawn more politely than usual.
Its retreat is no tragedy. What returns is not the vulgarity of the logo, but the right to be legible: to wear something that can be seen, named and shared. After several seasons of whispering among themselves, clothes are learning to speak aloud again. There is something to welcome in that.
One reservation remains. Fashion never gives up hierarchy; it changes its grammar. The whisper had a price of admission, and the clamour will have one too. Be wary of anyone selling the end of ostentation: what comes next is almost always more expensive.
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