The Quiet STORM
Harper's BAZAAR - US|August 2023
Fashion's obsession with a SOFTER and more UNDERSTATED-but no less LOFTY-brand of luxury is in FULL FORCE for FALL
ALISON S. COHN
The Quiet STORM

CHIARA FERRAGNI looked like she had activated incognito mode. At Fashion Week this past February, the Italian style star, who has amassed an Instagram following of 29 million for her sparkly, rainbow-colored, and logo-heavy ensembles, wore only neutrals: a cream knit and cargo pants at Fendi, a white shirtdress under a beige coat at Tod's, gray suiting at Gucci.

Among the über-influencers at the shows, Ferragni wasn't alone in pivoting to more pared-down looks. Tamu McPherson wore white knitwear at Ferragamo. Camille Charrière turned up in gray cashmere separates at Prada. Caroline Daur and Chriselle Lim donned classic camel outerwear at Max Mara and Lanvin, respectively. This, apparently, is what street style looks like in the quiet-luxury era, when aggressive refinement and sumptuous fabrics reign supreme.

"Getting back in the flow of the fashion calendar is very demanding," says McPherson, founder of the fashion, beauty, and wellness site All the Pretty Birds. "Currently, I am gravitating toward pieces that you and I have probably seen over and over again, which are classics." What McPherson is yearning for now is a fail-safe uniform of sorts-clothes that will gird her against the uncertainty of our hazy and not-quite-post-pandemic world. This, she says, requires a form of fashion reeducation in the most fundamental elements of style, which is precisely what the Fall 2023 runways offered: "These are go-tos that you can wear and use all the time. And so I do think that commercially it's a great strategy."

If the collections over the past few were brige mood-boosting infusions of color and shimmer-clothes conceived for a once-aspirational vision of a Covid-free future of revenge partying-then designers have turned just as determinedly toward understatement for fall, with an emphasis on the finer points of quality and design.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM HARPER'S BAZAAR - USView all
Tipping POINT
Harper's BAZAAR - US

Tipping POINT

When the PROGRESSIVE A-LIST CLIENTELE of the fashionable workout BALLET BEAUTIFUL learned that its FOUNDER was MARRIED to an ARCHITECT of the MAGA BLUEPRINT to impose an ultraconservative social agenda, PROJECT 2025, many felt SHOCKED and even BETRAYED

time-read
10+ mins  |
November 2024
SABATO's Way
Harper's BAZAAR - US

SABATO's Way

hor GUCCI creative director SABATO DE SARNO, remaking the storied Italian HOUSE for a NEW ERA isnt about OUTRUNNING its PAST. ts about MAKING some HISTORY ofhis OWN.

time-read
8 mins  |
November 2024
Inner DRIVE
Harper's BAZAAR - US

Inner DRIVE

KENDRICK LAMAR has consistently PUSHED the ART of HIP-HOP to NEW HEIGHTS. In advance of his SUPER BOWL performance, he gets PERSONAL with friend and fellow artist SZA

time-read
10+ mins  |
November 2024
NECK Tech
Harper's BAZAAR - US

NECK Tech

When it comes to COSMETIC TREATMENTS, the face may get all the attention, but the NECK deserves love too. Novel TECHNOLOGIES that go beyond creams deliver LIFTED, SCULPTED necks—WITHOUT SURGERY.

time-read
4 mins  |
November 2024
PLAN de PARIS
Harper's BAZAAR - US

PLAN de PARIS

EXPLORE the CITY of LIGHT through the eyes of our FASHION EDITORS

time-read
2 mins  |
November 2024
FREE Spirits
Harper's BAZAAR - US

FREE Spirits

BOHO is BACK in a big way. We tapped some of the ARCHITECTS of the STYLE's REVIVAL over the past three decades to tell us HOW WE GOT HERE.

time-read
6 mins  |
November 2024
Like a VIRGO
Harper's BAZAAR - US

Like a VIRGO

This month, our columnist DEREK C. BLASBERG talks to poet CLEO WADE and reality icon NICOLE RICHIE about the mysteries of the ZODIAC, the power of the INVISIBLE, and why having a VOICE starts with being a good LISTENER

time-read
6 mins  |
November 2024
This Is HOW YOU #WINWITHBLACKWOMEN
Harper's BAZAAR - US

This Is HOW YOU #WINWITHBLACKWOMEN

The BLACK WOMEN who organized the HISTORIC 44,000-person fundraising Zoom for KAMALA HARRIS explain how COMMUNITY, FRIENDSHIP, and a SHARED SENSE of UPLIFT got the job done

time-read
7 mins  |
November 2024
EMPIRE STATE OF MIND
Harper's BAZAAR - US

EMPIRE STATE OF MIND

Channel the boldness and dynamism of the city that never sleeps with the Twilight high jewelry suite by MARLI New York.

time-read
1 min  |
November 2024
PLAYLIST
Harper's BAZAAR - US

PLAYLIST

“I have a 10-HOUR PLAYLIST of all the songs that have ever INSPIRED me,” says SZA, “that over TIME have SHAPED me and played a part in BUILDING my IDENTITY.”

time-read
1 min  |
November 2024