Talking about Luxury today inevitably leads to asking questions about the evolution of the fashion system market, about how the approach to the customer has changed by the brands that until yesterday exalted brands and monograms and that today seem to whisper in a discreet and minimal way their presence, focusing on the choice of high quality materials and production.
Quiet luxury is the name given to this new trend. From Bottega Veneta to The Row, the houses that best embody this ideal are reflecting on how to write the present and the future of the trend.
Quiet luxury
There is no better way to describe the new concept of luxury that is gaining ground in the fashion world. The new trend concerns the style, quality and craftsmanship of the product, and therefore its ability to last over time and remain fashionable from season to season.
“Beauty will save the world”, wrote Dostoevsky, and it is no coincidence that the quote appears in the biography of a fashion house like Brunello Cucinelli on Instagram.
Less is more, clean and minimal aesthetics, high-end fabrics or antique fabrics rediscovered and interpreted to give value to research, are the key components of a simple and discreet luxury that presents visual codes that define the identity of a maison and make it recognizable.
Think of Chanel’s tweed, Hermès Kelly bag or Bottega Veneta’s woven leather bag, with its calfskin and padlock closure. These are elements that have remained unchanged over the years, ensuring that these treasures of luxury goods are also found in the second-hand market.
Bottega Veneta no logo
There are many examples of this new trend in the Italian fashion system, with brands and creations capable of handing down a timeless concept of fashion that is not influenced by passing trends. The emphasis is on products that are seen as long-term investments, such as Max Mara coats, cashmere garments by Brunello Cucinelli with Brioni and Loro Piana jackets.
However, the example of Bottega Veneta is perhaps the most appropriate to describe quiet Italian luxury. “When your own initials are enough”, the slogan of the 1970s Venetian maison was relaunched today to describe the path of the new creative director Matthieu Blazy.
To make their products recognizable, this Italian house has never needed to use visible logos. The Bottega Veneta logo is woven into the leather, so no additional details, labels (which are always internal) or frills are required. Although it is not flaunted or displayed in products or on social media, the identity and recognizability of the brand are well established.
