Noisy luxury trends ask: Are celebrities done wearing clothes “just like the rest of us”?

If you look at celebrity street style in any given year, you’ll see that Hollywood’s elite is well-stocked. But in 2024, stars like Jennifer Lopez, Hailey Bieber, Rihanna and Taylor Swift tended to hide their bank account balances and billionaire valuations.

The beige tyranny of “quiet luxury” (a term coined in early 2023 to describe high-quality, minimalist fashion that shows wealth in simplicity) came to an end in celebrity street style this year. . Instead of plain neutral bags or anonymous leather bags, celebrities’ everyday wear (at least off the red carpet) is bulked up with exaggerated textures, bold prints, unusual jewelry, and logos so big they can be seen from space. It was increasing. Even if these outfits include the proverbial accessible “low” (Ugg boots, Birkenstock sandals, Longchamp Le Pliage bag, etc.), celebs are trying to match them to the other side. I styled it to match my clothes. Everest’s “height” – the end of the spectrum. Forget about being “just like” their big fan. These costumes reminded viewers that they were in an untouchable stratosphere.

Celebrities didn’t unilaterally jump on the trend of flashy luxury goods. They tailored it to their wardrobe and personal taste. For A-listers, flashy luxury means wearing $10,000 worth of leopard print to church (like Hailey Bieber in Totem and Saint Laurent) or vintage Dolce & Gabbana furs. (Rihanna, for example) and carrying a similarly fluffy Louis Vuitton bag to dinner. That meant matching a Chanel flap bag with all the sequins, florals, and animal prints in your wardrobe (like Blake Lively). Or, if you’re Selena Gomez, debut your billionaire status with a Prada bag or a little black dress from countless designers from Saint Laurent, Valentino, and Versace.

But no celebrity epitomizes the loud luxury trend quite like Jennifer Lopez and her Birkin bag collection. Lopez has shown at least 10 pieces this year. This is Hermès’ most famous and special piece. In past years, she often paired it with gym clothes and jeans, but in 2024, the Unstoppable star paired it with an oversized fur coat, see-through nude shoes, and a printed dress. In a year defined in part by divorce and tour cancellations, Lopez’s sartorial choices showed that she will continue to live out loud, regardless of what’s happening in the tabloids. And in her world, there’s no better retail therapy than buying a new Kelly bag.

The dominance of this loud, luxury trend has extended to celebrities, whose biggest designer credits are usually reserved for red carpets and world tours. Taylor Swift has been rocking bolder logos and “bejeweled” accessories, from a $54,000 Louis Vuitton watch to a Dior saddle bag and several Gucci-printed outings. shed some of its street style signatures in favor of The Girl Next Door. She’s at her peak musically, and according to the 2023 Time Person of the Year interview, she’s done trying to hide her life, relationships and ambitions. Her custom diamond ring and Chanel chain necklace are expressions of that personal mission.

All in all, part of the new rise of loud luxury trends is the fashion pendulum doing what it does best: swinging back to where it came from. Designers at the Paris, Milan and New York shows abandoned incognito styling such as sequins, animal print and exaggerated, space-taking shapes. They also brought back distinctly archival pieces from the early ’20s, like the Louis Vuitton Speedy and Balenciaga City bag. Meanwhile, the site Data But Make It Fashion reports that searches for “quiet luxury” are down nationwide. Flying unnoticed by the radar can be very fulfilling for a long time. Ask any famous person who has had a spectacular return to the majors, only to be left out of the limelight.

And for A-listers, there’s a stronger connection between the runway and real life than there is in the way 99.9% of other people dress. Celebrity street style is as much a business as it is pure self-expression. Some street style styles overlap double G or -C logos because they are contractually obligated to do so. As sales of luxury goods begin to decline around the world, and with it the purchasing power of the average shopper, designers are turning to their most influential ambassadors and walking billboards, according to Reuters. They say it’s fueling desire and maintaining interest until the market recovers and more people can treat themselves. luxury bags and shoes.

The flashy luxury trend can also be viewed through a more direct lens. These celebrities are smart businesswomen who have worked hard to earn their wealth and want to enjoy it. This is especially true for emerging billionaires like Swift and Gomez. They seem to be trying to show off that their success and spending power stems directly from their own efforts. And in a post-girlboss, post-cancel culture internet, they can ignore the “eat rich” criticism online to the sound of Birkin charm singing their own little tunes.

The next time you see Hailey Bieber in $90 Adidas or Selena Gomez in Birkenstock sandals, there’s a good chance their familiar friends Louis, Fendi, and Prada will be nearby. Because they are not like us and can afford to make that perfectly clear.