Quiet luxury shows no sign of slowing down. The trend has jumped from the global women’s and men’s ready-to-wear collections to dominating the fall 2023 runways of Paris Haute Couture.
As international editor Miles Socha noted in his review of Kim Jones’ Fendi collection, deceptive simplicity was one of the big stories of the week, “with many designers preferring austere silhouettes achieved with as few seams as possible.” Jones’ gossamer naked dresses in earth tones were the apex of “quiet luxury.”
Just don’t call it that when referring to Alexandre Vauthier’s toned-down collection. “That’s not my point of view,” the designer told WWD’s Rhonda Richford. Vauthier showed le smoking tuxedo suits and evening dresses with nary a sparkle in sight. Despite Vauthier’s protestation, these were, “both quieter — in a deep palette that bypassed the bright pops of fluorescent colors he’s favored in recent seasons — and luxurious.”
At Chanel, Virginie Viard channeled “the allure of the Parsienne,” embodied by Caroline de Marguerite who opened in a classic tweed topcoat, giving way to other riffs on the French girl uniform like the humble, yet impeccably tailored ivory blouse and knee-length skirt seen here. “I wanted it to feel simple but elegant,” Viard told Joelle Diderich of the outdoor show on a quai along the river Seine.
Meanwhile, Maria Grazia Chiuri took inspiration from antiquity with a lineup of pleated sheath-style gowns that mimicked Grecian columns. These were in line with “what founder Christian Dior described as the “apparent simplicity” of designs made to fit like a glove.”