Wealth Signaling
Written By TFN Writer: Grace Patterson
Our aesthetic and habitual choices speak to who we want to be. Everyone seems to want to be cool, unique, and reminiscent of some photo you saw on Pinterest a month ago. Everyone’s a rockstar, everyone’s chic. Or at least they always seem to want to be, which is why I became incredibly confused in May 2023 when I began to see people out for a night on the town wearing what could only be described as minimalist-Sunday-mass-business-casual-chic. More commonly known as the quiet luxury/stealth wealth/old money aesthetic, the drastic shift to maturity threw me for a loop when I first noticed it following Sophia Richie’s wedding in April 2023.
I was confused. I thought Gen-Z was the generation proud of its aversion to tradition. We were the rock stars, the protesters, the loudest voices in the room. And yet, even as I look at my own outfit, I notice I have made an active choice to be anything but a rock star. My ballet flats, loose fitting silk camisole, baggy jeans—it is all characteristic of someone who doesn’t have to shout to be heard. Of a relaxed, quiet state of being.
And just like Carrie Bradshaw, I couldn’t help but wonder why we all decided to turn away from the grungy, sleazy aesthetic we grew up on (and that Sophie Richie used to embody). Was it to do with our age? Our tastes?
I found the answer to most of my questions quite recently. Not in the study of fashion, but in the study of economics and sociology.
Gen Z is a generation taught to define our own identity in relation to cultural, economic, and political trends. However, as time has progressed, we’ve also become a generation that has joined the workforce (and had the dire realization that rent in most cities is hellish). The popularity of quiet luxury and other synonymous aesthetics signifies Gen Z’s personal reckoning with the world. We don’t just read about class struggles anymore; we feel them. Deeply.
Due to rising inflation, economic mobility in the U.S. has significantly decreased within the past several decades. The characteristics of ‘Old Money’ have become foundationally unachievable, and the if you know you know attitude of quiet luxury speaks to that. The idealism of the mid-2010's Girlboss (pink bootstraps not included) has been lost to the truth of the matter. That is; Gen Z is entering a workforce where gumption can only get you so far and dreams of a summer home on the coast are virtually impossible.
Enter quiet luxury, with its air of effortlessness and clear predestination to success. The aesthetic functions as a means of wealth signaling, an indication to others not just the lifestyle but also relative identity of the wearer. Quiet luxury is an unspoken language between members of the highest economic and social classes. A white-collar Bat Signal that prevents the mixing of classes and maintains the status quo.
As I delved deeper into my research, I became overly familiar with this concept of wealth signaling. I looked at popular fashion shows, trends, and media that dominated the cultural zeitgeist within the past several decades and found expressions of wealth everywhere I looked. To quote my notes from July 15th, 2023:
“Most people don’t want to look cool- they want to look rich, powerful. Whatever’s going on in the world defines what’s powerful, and what’s powerful (almost) ALWAYS defines what people wear...”
Fashion Week S/S24 happened recently- and woven through every piece—from neckline to pocket—was the expression of wealth. The looks that came out of S/S24 spoke to three primary aspirations of audiences or participating houses:
1. A stable office job
2. The identity (and finances) of the contemporary urbanite
3. Maintained exclusivity of high class
1. A stable, well-paid career
The biggest trend across S/S24 was workwear. Blazers, button-ups, and trousers found themselves among evening gowns and abstract pieces. Even abstract looks paid homage to the white light of an office, like AVAVAV’s blazer made entirely out of Post-It notes. This exploration of elevated business wear signals two trends within the collective American psyche.
Firstly, we are acquainted with wearing business wear so much that we’re willing to elevate and change it. The existence of white-collar work clothes is no longer a statement or celebration of freedom from remote work during the pandemic. The corner-office origins of business wear no longer give us pause or a wave of emotion as we are no longer actively coping with the lifestyle changes that accompanied the COVID-19 pandemic.
Secondly, the celebration of office chic indicates a longing for adult life by the new faces designing these collections. As adults, people begin to crave stability no longer guaranteed by the ubiquitous bootstrap culture that characterizes the American workforce. The inflation of currency, merit, and ambition has left many Gen Z-ers questioning if they truly have what it takes to live the comfortable life they grew up dreaming of.
2. The identity (and finances) of the contemporary urbanite
While this takeaway has similar foundations as the first, it connects to a different trend among younger generations. Studies of human movement over time show that a population will continue to move from rural to urban spaces over time in search of opportunity and a ‘better life.’ For Millennials and Gen Z, content romanticizing city life on social media has strengthened this belief that life is just better when you live in the big city.
The elevation of business wear to something unique and creative alludes to capitalist pillars of individuality and bootstrap culture. We want to be the chic, confident person who wears an eccentric blazer to a stable job. We want to take the train home to the apartment we’re able to afford before going out to get a dinner we can also afford. Clothing speaks to the identity of the wearer, and business casual is no different.
We saw a rise in the everyday wear of blazers and tapered-leg trousers after the ‘08 recession, which served as a celebration of the stability and wealth that comes from an office job. Now, following the pandemic, economic trends, and unemployment trends, we strive to be busy. We strive to be the person who has to leave events early because they have somewhere cooler to be after. We strive to be powerful enough that, despite the state of the world, our big-city dreams can come true.
3. Maintained exclusivity of high class
Fashion week in particular is more of a PR stunt than an art gallery. It is the launch of their continued brand identity for the season in question, the presentation of which A-listers love them enough to sit front row to the catwalk. PR only works if people care, though. With the increase in popularity of dupes and fast fashion, participating houses are fighting tooth and nail to maintain the exclusivity that defines their identity.
You can’t be an industry leader if you’re only relevant to a small group of consumers, much less if you’re not relevant at all. Stores like ZARA (and related brands) have changed the game completely, becoming more relevant to see what’s on trend than the houses that create the trends themselves. Exclusive brands stand to lose more than their pride—millions if not billions of dollars are at stake if they’re not willing or able to fight for their place in the industry.
Business wear and other trends from S/S24 all focus heavily on technique and quality; pleats, embellishments, draping, beading, etc. All are beautiful, yes, but they’re much harder to recreate for fast fashion brands that cheap out on materials and labor. These brands are not just beating some houses commercially but joining them in the ranks of influence and even status. This is detrimental to the house’s identities.
S/S24 focused on status above all else (not unlike Fashion Weeks of the past). Wealth is a means to garnering status, respect, and even stability. For Gen Z, it may be the only way, as the social mobility of an academic or artistic career dwindles. Lower classes are attempting to speak the heavily guarded language of the upper class, looking for it wherever one might find evidence of wealth and power. Currently, those places are corner offices and ‘understated’ weddings. The powerless find themselves looking at TikToks of expensive cars, homes, vacations, etc. Just to see if they can find whispers of wealth that can be used to garner possession of the luxury they pine for.
Quiet luxury is a fashion trend, but more than that it is the expression of panic. Of a reckoning by youth with the world at large. Quiet luxury is the maintenance of classes, of power, of the little things that make our society what it is today. The button-ups, the tailored maxi skirts... They’re more than pieces in our closets. They are clear attempts to both garner and express high class. Younger generations understand they will never beat those who speak in stealthy tongues. But maybe (just maybe) if they look closely enough at the buttons on a single-breasted blazer, they too may be heard like the wealthy are by simply whispering.
Love this piece Grace!
Amazing peice Grace! Pulled thoughts out of my head I didn’t even know I was thinking. Well done 👏