The Biggest Fashion Trend Right Now & How Brands Aren’t Catching On
Using data analytics to assess and understand the rise of “quiet luxury”.
One of the biggest topics of conversation in today’s fashion-sphere is, interestingly, not talking about fashion.
From the famously logo-free, luxury looks worn by the cast of hit TV show, Succession, to a looming economic downturn and recession, fashion, it seems, is getting quieter.
The idea “quiet luxury”, referring to logo-free, “if you know, you know” designer fashion — from $500 cashmere baseball caps you just know are Loro Piana, to thousand dollar, impeccably tailored Zegna and Brunello suits—has become a craze.
According to Google Search data, usage of the term “quiet luxury” has increased by over 1,200% this past month alone.
Quiet luxury seems like an exciting idea for the fashion industry. It encourages investing in pieces that are fashionable and invest-able not because of the logos they boast, but because of their quality and design. It prompts us to think beyond screen-printed logo t-shirts and mass-produced small leather goods.
Quiet luxury is also, however, a steep change from existing consumer trends and behaviors. So, I sought out to answer: despite all the commotion, is quiet luxury actually going to catch on?
The data here is interesting. I analyzed thousands of images from the 2023 runway collections and found that logos are seen in around ~10% of total looks. Additionally, when comparing the discrepancies in trends between last season’s runway shows and the latest, Fall collections, we see a 7% increase in logos*.
This means that high-fashion’s biggest designers—from Louis Vuitton to Gucci to Fendi to Prada—aren’t super interested in quiet luxury. Instead, they’re getting even louder.
Some brands are leading the logomania way — like Miu Miu, who included logos in 60% of its 2023 collections, or Fendi, who included logos in ~40%. Others, are certainly more quiet—like Louis Vuitton, who included logos in just around ~10% of their collections*.
Overall, however, the industry is (objectively) trending towards more and more logos, proving that “quiet luxury” might just be a temporary craze we’re all excited about before we quickly and inevitably fall back into our logo-covered hoodies, belts, and card holders.
Regardless, the discrepancies in these trends highlight the tension between fashion brands and consumers, and just how hard it is to pinpoint and keep up with fast-changing consumer demand.
*The runway data included in this post stems from an independent analysis I conducted on thousands of runway photos from ~20, top runway collections in 2023. You can read it all in The Little Book of Big Fashion Data.
I’m a NYC-based software engineer researching all the ways fashion and technology intersect. Find more of my stuff here, and feel free to get in touch.
