Fashion Realities
Quiet Luxury - 2024 Normcore
published 26.03.2024
I don´t know if you have heard about the 2014 era of wearing of basics in the most mundane way possible called Normcore. After some investigation I stumbled across an article from Madsen and Satran - featured in the 2014 ID-Magazine about Modernism. It was called “There is nothing/something special about Normcore “.
In the piece they explain why caring so much - to show no personality at all - became such a huge thing. Suddenly everyone wanted to be no one and couldn’t care less about there appearance.
It is basically the “no-make make-up trend” of outfits and dressing up. But let´s try to see it from this perspective. Is quiet luxury not exactly that trend repeated a good 10 years later?! The cause of the original normcore was the anti-fashion movement in opposition to the “Nu Rave – Movement”. That brought together glitter, drag and color expressionism.
A normcore member would dress in Levi’s jeans, Birkenstocks and flannels or sweaters. You wear basics to blend in. You don´t need any personnel style when you want to be like everyone else. But let´s be honest, in the end all they wanted was to find peace after all the partying and drugs.
But what could be the cause of our 2024 normcore era - elevated basics. They get copied by the fast fashion giants like Zara and H&M. Everyone can get them, they are cheap, look expensive – at least in the minds of the consumers – and it´s easy to buy.
On the other hand, the name “quiet luxury” says it is supposed to not show how expensive it really is. But somehow it does and somehow the style has millions of followers. Also keep in mind what came before quiet luxury - y-2k? Pretty much 2014 again.
Moral of the story: Fashion is an endless cycle of repeating trends. The more trends we want, the faster those end and new ones come. So why not slow-down and think about what your version of normcore is. Maybe a bit more comfort or a bit more color?
