How Barbie is leading the loud luxury fightback after quiet luxury: the film’s candy-coloured explosion elbows Succession’s ‘stealth wealth’ to make way for unapologetically bold styles

Aug 18 , 2023

Margot Robbie at the premiere of Barbie on July 9 in Los Angeles, California. Photo: Getty Images

Understated looks have been everywhere thanks to Kendall Roy’s cashmere Loro Piana baseball caps and brands like The Row – but bloggers like Bryanboy call it an ‘old aesthetic rooted in whiteness’

And Just Like That’s Nicole Ari Parker loves to be big and bold while Margot Robbie wore a sequinned Schiaparelli look inspired by a 1960s doll

If there’s one trend, buzzword or aspirational lifestyle that’s ruled 2023 it’s been “quiet luxury”. Buoyed by TV shows such as HBO’s Succession with its logo-free “stealth wealth” dressing – billionaire Kendall Roy’s US$985/HK$7,700 cashmere Loro Piana baseball cap for example – the cult following for brands such as The Row, viral TikTok trends such as the “old money aesthetic”, and Gwyneth Paltrow’s much discussed court trial, understated “IYKYK” dressing has been everywhere.

That is, until the Barbie movie – a coordinated candy-coloured explosion of mega-watt outfits. Even before the movie itself we had Margot Robbie’s epic global press tour for the film with recreations of archival Barbie outfits from fashion designers, such as Schiaparelli’s knockout sequinned, rose and tulle-bedecked take on the 1960s doll, “Solo In The Spotlight”.

Nicole Ari Parker at the red carpet premiere of Sex and The City sequel, And Just Like That in New York in December 2021. Photo: Reuters

Then the second series of the Sex and the City reboot And Just Like That … reintroduced us to the unutterably fabulous alpha mum and film director Lisa Todd Wexly (played by Nicole Ari Parker) who is, as the show’s costume designer Danny Santiago told me before the show aired, definitely on the international best-dressed list.

Her signature style? Unapologetically bold: there is no necklace too big, no colour too vivid and no outfit too bizarre (“it’s not crazy, it’s Valentino!”) for Wexley. Meanwhile Carrie Bradshaw, now in her 50s, remains as quirky as ever in her fashion choices and her new best friend – slinky and self-possessed Seema – leaves no leopard print untouched. It’s worth noting of course that the women on this show have serious money.

It’s not only in pop culture that a louder take on luxury has been celebrated.

The antithesis of quiet luxury can be found in such things as this summer’s trend for monogrammed raffia bags and the spectacle of Pharrell Williams’ debut collection for Louis Vuitton. Whether it’s described as “prep”, “normcore” or “minimalism” – quiet luxury, with its coded messages, has always existed. But loud luxury has a place, and a customer, too. The drama of haute couture shows is proof of this.

Libby Page, market director at luxury retailer Net-a-Porter, says the retailer immediately experienced the Barbie effect, as well as an uptick in people looking for colourful and monogrammed pieces from brands that they know and love.

“Following the release of the Barbie trailer and movie, we have seen a spike in customers seeking pops of colours and prints, calling for louder and bolder styles. Some of the top-selling brands in the Asia-Pacific region that speak to this mood include Zimmermann and Gucci, which are well known for their colourful prints and signature monogram,” she says.