Why quiet luxury is on the rise in China: Barbie might have sparked the loud luxury fashion trend, but the nation’s richest are all about the Succession-esque old-money style

Aug 29 , 2023

Quiet luxury is on the rise for many reasons in China right now. Photo: Getty Images

Hit HBO TV show Succession and celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow put stealth wealth in the spotlight in the West, then came the inevitable loud luxury response – but not in China

Chinese shoppers covet a subtle, ‘laoqianfeng’ aesthetic – think classic Louis Vuitton or Dior without the flashy logos – over the more in-your-face ‘xinqianfeng’, new-money look

First, people respect the silken clothes. Then, they respect the man.

For generations, that’s been a popular saying in China: 先敬罗衣后敬人. It translates to a simple lesson for everyone who wants to be wealthy – or at least look the part.

What looking rich means to the Chinese has evolved over the years, but one thing is consistent: they spare no expense. Chinese shoppers will make up 40 per cent of all luxury consumers by 2030, despite recent turbulence, per Bain & Co’s research. Fashion houses from Burberry to Dior are also doubling down on their efforts to cash in.

People walk past an advertising hoarding placed in front of a Fendi luxury leather goods store, in Hong Kong, in March 2014. Photo: EPA

But the face of China’s rich is changing. Gone are the flashy logos you can spot from a mile away. A world away from the US, the laws of the hit HBO series Succession apply, too. The old-money aesthetic is in, new-money fashion is gauche, and if you want to be taken seriously, play the game.

The rules are simple. No head-to-toe Gucci. No loud colours, no all-over Louis Vuitton print. The logic is, you wouldn’t wear anything that you’d see in Crazy Rich Asians or Netflix’s Bling Empire. And, per Tom Wambsgans of Succession, small, unassuming pouches only, because carrying a “ludicrously capacious” bag is out of the question.

Decoding “laoqian” style

A look from Loro Piana’s spring/summer 2023 men’s collection that exudes quiet luxury. Photo: Loro Piana

To understand style and money in China, there are three terms you need to be familiar with: laoqianfeng, xinqianfeng and tuhao.

To start, what flavour of rich you are in China is coded into your very person, from the clothes you wear, to the way your hair and skin looks. In attempting to craft your image in the style of laoqianfeng – similar to what the West calls the old-money aesthetic – you must appear well-nourished and put-together, but natural and understated enough to look like you’ve done absolutely nothing to achieve effortless grace. And for xinqianfeng, or the new-money aesthetic, you leave it to your clothes to announce you’ve arrived at a certain level of wealth, with as much flash and glitter as possible.

A Chinese model donning a quiet luxury look evocative of laoqianfeng. Photo: Brunello Cucinelli

The term laoqian in China also refers to a group of people whose wealth has stacked up over several generations. Think the scions of property moguls and political power players, the fuerdai who have been educated at Ivy League schools, who fly home for the summer to their lush homes in the inner rings of the Chinese capital, close to the core of Beijing’s beating heart.