If you have visited any luxury hotels or resorts, you’ve surely noticed that wealthy women never carry large handbags. Take a close look at the handbag collections of Dior, Chanel or Hermes and you’ll note that many of their bags are small and unobtrusive. The ultra-rich rarely need to carry anything themselves.

Related story: Dame Mary Quant

Unlike many consumers, with fashion, the ultra-rich shy away from designer logos and conspicuous consumption. It’s like attending the Pebble Beach Concours automobile show at which the spectators wear all the car logos while the owners’ dress is understated and logo-free. If you owned a million-dollar classic Rolls-Royce, would you wear a Rolls-Royce logo jacket? Probably not as you’d have nothing to prove.

For many super-rich individuals, quality is more important than any given fashion trend. By investing in high-quality, understated clothing, they can ensure that their wardrobe lasts longer and looks good for years to come. Further, super-rich people often have a high public profile and may want to avoid drawing unnecessary attention to themselves. Showing restraint in their clothing choices can help them blend in with the crowd and avoid being recognized or photographed.

While flashy clothing can be a way of displaying wealth, many wealthy individuals prefer a more subtle approach. By wearing expensive, well-made, and unassuming clothing, they can still demonstrate their wealth and status to those who are in the know, while avoiding the negative attention that can come with ostentatious displays.

In some cultures, displaying wealth openly can be seen as distasteful or inappropriate. By dressing in a more understated manner, wealthy individuals can avoid giving the impression that they are flaunting their wealth or acting in a socially inappropriate way.

Quiet luxury fashions

Fashion is a powerful communication tool that even the ultra-rich use to communicate messages about themselves. For the very rich, style is all about luxurious fabrics, classic silhouettes, good fit and tasteful color palettes. Think Max Mara, Dries van Noten, Brunello Cucinelli, and Loro Piana. Think great lines, perfect tailoring, and exceptional craftsmanship. And the next time you are invited to a party hosted by a billionaire, leave the designer sweats at home, ditch the giant logo belt bag, and reach for something classic, gorgeous, and well made. You’ll blend right in!

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Nonetheless, the fashion world soldiers on and, after reviewing many of the European luxury spring runway shows, here are my top three spring fashion trends for today’s woman.

Wild side: Sensual lace

Saint Laurent’s resort collection was all about the 90s. Remember Kate Moss’ wardrobe of vintage lace, silk camisoles and slip dresses?

This season, underwear is once again outerwear. Now paired with long blazers, cardigans, miniskirts or faded jeans, the emphasis is on comfort. 

At home, this look is easy and effortless, if a little wild. Early zoom meeting? Forego the common t-shirt and throw a blazer over your camisole or bralette.

However, you wear them, all are classic pieces that are smart investments for seasons to come.

Colour: Mint green

Pantone’s Color of the Year gave us illuminating yellow and ultimate grey while Hermes’ spring runway show presented us with butter yellow.

But my luxury buyer experience is betting on mint green as the must-buy colour of the season. It has a more youthful vibe, compliments more skin tones, and makes a terrific accent colour for accessories.

So, watch for mint green dresses and outerwear plus accessories such as sneakers and handbags for a playful colourful sporty style this spring.

Trench coat

In a world of uncertainty, fashion designers have gone back to basics, reinventing the classic trench coat.

Louis Vuitton, Prada and Nina Ricci all offer trench coats with a twist: from dramatic lapels and bold sleeves to curious side slits, drop waists and belts.

For spring, a cinched waist was big on the runway. Choose a belted trench coat that will emphasize your silhouette and leave the baggy, bulky and balloon-like winter coats behind as we look to warmer weather and longer days.

COVID-friendly fashion

As fashion designers have adjusted to pandemic life, their socially distanced luxury spring runway shows remain focused on home comfort.

But despite the continued emphasis on COVID-friendly fashion, I’m optimistic that by working together to keep family and colleagues safe, we will come out of this sooner rather than later.

There are signs of life in the luxury fashion realm. While spending on luxury fashion is down, the amount of the average sales transaction is up.

This demonstrates that the high fashion houses that focus on their core values of quality, exclusivity, and customer experience will weather the current storm.

Related story: Why we love Australian Merino wool

Also, with more luxury designers focusing on fashion sustainability and with sales reflecting clients choosing quality over quantity, the industry is changing for the better.

This spring, I hope your fashion choices reflect an optimistic outlook. I know mine will and I’m confident I’ll be back reporting from the fashion frontlines soon!

Top photo by H.F.E & CO on Unsplash

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Fashion history tells us that social disruptions such as political and economic events like the great depression and World War II have had far greater influence on fashion than seasonal trends.

During World War II, everything from food to steel to fabrics was rationed for the war effort so our parents recycled old clothes and even curtains to make new things for their children.

Christian Dior’s New Look

The post-war years gave birth to Christian Dior’s extravagant New Look which was defined by long skirts with corset waists. This type of extreme European elegance would not have been politically acceptable during the war.

Above Photo: Duomo of Milan | Daniil Vnoutchkov on Unsplash

Luxury retail therapy is real

Today, Athleisure may encourage more people to adopt the same look in public regardless of what activity they’re engaged in, day in and day out. But for the wealthy, luxury retail therapy is very real. WWD reports that upon reopening, the Hermes boutique in Guangzhou, China brought in sales of US $2.7M in one day. While many of you continue to lounge in your leggings, the luxury sector is more resilient than most people realize.

We are all eager to return to normality – to get outside, connect with family and friends, travel beyond the borders Covid-19 has imposed upon us. Doubtless, a revival of personal style will be part of this journey. 

Australians take out the bin

Consider some of the ways that Covid-19 has already influenced fashion. In Australia, for example, women are dressing up in their wedding gowns to take out the garbage. The pictures they’re posting on Instagram – hauling trash cans to the curb in swathes of white silk, satin and chiffon – are a cheeky reminder that, these days, your bin goes out more than you do. We all have to create our own opportunities to dress up.

New York street photography evolves

Meanwhile in New York, street fashion photography has been replaced by demure images of Kate Middleton-style looks taken at home and posted each Sunday on Instagram. Though the content may have shifted to a more reserved aesthetic, even in the middle of a pandemic, many still crave those ‘likes’. 

So, fashion is still part of our lives, a way to express our moods and identities even during the most challenging of times. We will survive Covid-19 and it will change the face of fashion. 

Together, we will celebrate life and personal style once this has passed. I, for one, can’t wait to see what the next stage of fashion history will look like.

Be kind, stay home and stay safe!

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Chanel’s spring/summer 2019 show presented us with a very chic black and white swimsuit paired with low slung denim which a Parisian woman could wear anywhere – not just to the beach. 

Maryam Nassir Zadeh layered bike shorts over a stylish striped crochet maillot while an Hermes model’s one-piece swimsuit was matched with a high waisted skirt. 

Prabal Gurund paired a saturated coral bikini top with casual urban pants which would not look out of place on Santa Monica beach.

Related article: Recent Survey Shows Staggering Results for the Most Popular Bikini Tops and Bottoms

This summer’s hottest looks may be exemplified by young women wearing their maillots with simple cardigans on the beachfront boardwalks of LA. For New Yorkers, it may be bikini tops paired with 80s power blazers for a touch of urban sophistication. If the trend on the catwalk translates to real life, your bather could soon be part of your everyday look. 

Designers have always included swimwear with their collections but this may be the season where it actually becomes streetwear. Remember back in the 80’s when Madonna took lingerie out of the bedroom and wore it outside? Something similar is happening with the bathing suit.

Could wearing a bikini top on the street perhaps tell the world that your life is spontaneous and exciting? It all speaks to today’s luxury lifestyle trends of international women who travel the world on a whim.

Watch this space to see if the bikini street style look trends this summer.

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With its rebel history and its distinctly Parisian je ne sais quoi, it’s no surprise that the beret is making a comeback, appearing in the runway collections of Yves Saint Laurent, Isabel Marant, and Dior. Current incarnations of this stylish staple include brightly colored versions in textured wools and others in black leather studded with colored stones. Models with their hair up wore the look best though leaving hair long and loose is a stylish option too.

This age-old icon of French fashion originated in the Pyrenees about 400 years ago. Berets were first worn by rural peasants and then by soldiers in the 18^th and 19^th centuries before becoming a worldwide symbol of French chic.

Propelling the humble beret to its current luxury status is Laulhére, France’s oldest and last remaining beret manufacturer which just opened a boutique on Paris rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore near the shops of luxury designers such as Hermes and YSL.

Laulhére began manufacturing berets 170 years ago and still uses the same century-old machinery to knit the luscious merino wool used for the hats which it then steams, forms and colors. This process takes nearly two days to complete but, despite the labour intensive technique, Laulhére now sells over 200,000 berets a year with a prices ranging from US$75 for a basic model to nearly US$1200 for a leather hat decorated with stones and crystals. Their main clientele are now international tourists looking to take home a piece of archetypal French luxury.

Back in the mid 80’s, there were over 20 beret manufacturers in the Pyrénées region but by they were all driven out of business by Chinese and Indian factories producing lower cost products. The workers at Laulhére  are passionate about preserving this French tradition and proudly offer their clientele quality Made in France berets.

During your next trip to Paris, pay a visit Laulhére to acquire one of their beautiful berets. Not only will you look totally chic and absolutely au courant, you will also be helping keep the production of a quintessentially French fashion icon rooted in home soil.”

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