Post-recession years often see compressed and muted sartorial choices. This paved the way for “quiet luxury” to creep its way into many millennial and Gen Z closets.
As we step into 2024, the fashion landscape sees a dynamic fusion of redefined luxury, technological innovation, and ethical consciousness.
A rebrand with new packaging is what sustains the appeal of fashion. This is why we keep finding ourselves in one recycled trend after another. When Gen Z embraced late 90’s and early 2000s clothing, one can say they were inspired by the “IT Girls” of that time. But to Gen Z, that timeframe represents a nostalgia for less dystopian times, and clothes happen to be affordable and thrift-friendly.
Kanishka Tripathi CEO & Founder, Mahāsa Ghar shares several trends that made waves in 2023 and are expected to continue in 2024, shaping the upcomng year.
Quiet Luxury
Post-recession years often see compressed and muted sartorial choices. This paved the way for “quiet luxury” to creep its way into many millennial and Gen Z closets. The appeal lies in the “if you know, you know” approach, where you don’t have to wear flashy, gaudy, logo-stained pieces of luxury to indicate that you are in fact “rich”. Because one may only need to look the part, quiet luxury stays as the most imitable and achievable fashion trend of 2023, that will continue well into 2024.
Featuring clean lines, functional frames, structured pieces, with plenty of breathing room, devoid of any unflattering silhouettes, quiet luxury features timeless pieces like straight-fit trousers reaching just below the ankles, sinched-in shirts that appeal to the 9-5 crowd as well as late night plans. Much of pop culture has enabled this trend, which is also termed “stealth wealth” many-a-times.
Tech in Fashion
With social media, people are more experimental with fashion. All microtrends emerge from the masses, and most creators and stylists resort to Pinterest to carve out seasonal palettes that they will be leaning into.
Conversely, the fashion industry is now embracing technology to enhance design, production, and distribution processes, with a focus on sustainability and personalization. 3D printing, artificial intelligence, and augmented reality are among the latest advancements that enable designers to create intelligent textiles and extend the human body by adding new functions and interacting with the environment.
Ethical Sourcing
Ethical sourcing ensures safe working conditions, fair wages, and environmental sustainability, which are important moral considerations. Ethical sourcing also promotes traceability, which enables fashion brands to track and document their supply chains, providing transparency and accountability. Failure to prioritize ethical sourcing can lead to negative publicity, legal issues, and reputational damage, which can have significant financial implications for fashion brands.
Additionally, consumers have been growing serious about funding home-grown ethical brands that empower marginalized communities, while keeping the currency circulation within national borders.
In conclusion, as we step into 2024, the fashion landscape sees a dynamic fusion of redefined luxury, technological innovation, and ethical consciousness. Shifting away from overt displays of wealth signifies a cultural move towards authenticity and substance over conspicuous consumption. Technology, especially through social media, democratizes trends, creating a consumer environment that champions brands emphasizing transparency and ethics, while rejecting those linked to exploitative labour and environmental harm
