[Quiet Watch Overview] What is "Quiet Luxury" in various situations?

Recently, many people in the industry have been fond of talking about "quiet luxury." In stark contrast to the trend toward bold designs, demand for understated timepieces has clearly increased compared to a few years ago. How should we interpret this "trend"? Let's consider the essence of this new trend that has permeated the very core of the dress watch boom.

Quiet luxury in the scene

　Despite being made of thick compressed cashmere, the flowing drape stands out with every step. Textured wool, silk with a wet look. There are no logos or distinctive features of a specific brand. However, the drape of the fabric and the silhouette make it clear that the garments are extremely luxurious.

　From 2023 to the present, the style that has been attracting attention on the runways of Paris and Milan fashion weeks has been dubbed "quiet luxury."

　The Row, run by the Olsen sisters, Mary-Kate and Ashley, uses luxurious materials without reservation. Brunello Cucinelli has been meticulously crafting its products in the village of Solomeo in central Italy. Jil Sander has been emphasizing its emphasis on texture ever since Lucie and Luke Meier took over as creative directors in the spring/summer 2018 season.

　Other designers who have worked for Bottega Veneta and Loro Piana include Setchu, who won the LVMH Prize last year, a global gateway for young designers. Setchu is a new designer based in Milan, led by Kuwata Satoshi, who has worked for Central Saint Martins in the UK, Huntsman, a well-established house on Savile Row, and Givenchy.

　This trend started with women's fashion, became the most talked-about keyword in 2023, and is now making inroads into the men's world as well.

　In the 2010s, there was a demand for clothes and bags that looked appealing on Instagram and other social media platforms, and this was the quickest way to differentiate yourself, so to speak, and these featured prominent brand logos. This also coincided with the so-called "luxury" trend, where luxury brands incorporated streetwear elements. Incidentally, at the time, if you looked at posts by luxury fashionistas on social media, there was a high chance that they were wearing a "Luxpo" watch on their left wrist. Of course, luxury watches are still wonderful today, but the combination of luxury and luxury was outstanding.

　However, in 2020, the sudden COVID-19 pandemic made it impossible to go out, attend extravagant events, or meet with others, and so the fashion people sought changed to comfortable home wear and casual business wear that could be easily worn for remote meetings.

　While remote meetings are becoming more commonplace than ever before, ironically, the COVID-19 pandemic may have made people realize what is essential.

　And now, fashion people, freed to do whatever they wanted in the post-COVID world, have turned their attention to outfits that continue to feature oversized silhouettes but lack any distinctive brand-name elements, subtly showcasing the quality of the materials and tailoring.

　I would like to emphasize that the brands mentioned as representative examples do not create clothes with an awareness of "trends," but are simply sticking to their previous stance, which is what attracts people and the media.

　In the past two years, many of my friends in the fashion industry, both men and women, have been buying simple 18-karat solid gold Tank Louis Cartier watches. Personally, I've been following the reforms being implemented by Guido Terreni, who became CEO of Parmigiani Fleurier in 2021. I'm stunned by the quality of the Tonda PF with its barleycorn guilloché and the new Toric. When I asked him about quiet luxury during his visit to Japan in June, he replied, "Trends go out of style. Our watches are not for the sake of boasting to others, but for our own sake—private luxury." If quiet luxury refers to a timeless look, then both are in the same category, and perhaps they represent something more solid than a trend.