THANGO NTWASA | Leisure and quiet luxury for the rich, excess and hard grind for the povvos

Since its first episode HBO's Succession has had viewers in a chokehold. For four seasons and 39 episodes, the programme follows a media empire and who of its spoiled brats will ascend to the throne.

While the storyline alone is enough to grip audiences, it was also a frank look at the lives of the rich and famous.

It would do this through the costume department's take on the only woman with a seat at the table, Shiv Roy. The character quickly became the face of a growing fashion trend — quiet luxury — also known as the old money aesthetic. Through tan and earthy colours, those who buy into the trend embraced designer handbags and high-quality items that feature no discernible logos or eye-catching silhouettes. Instead, it's an unassuming aesthetic that very few can buy into. All until the luxury market's bow was broken.

Brands such as Hermes could not doll out their unique Birkin bags without retailers successfully creating uncanny dupes.

The upper class has turned to something we blue collar folk can't participate in — vacations. These endless vacations have become indicative of how they cannot enclothe their status.

As reported in Fortune, the 1% has shaken struggling high-end brands like Dior, Versace and Burberry to their core. For high fashion houses, perfumes and accessories are usually the high sellers. It's what most people can afford, which helped make up for the revenues spent on promotional materials including fashion week shows, look books or advertising in magazines and billboards. With more of their clientele who can afford the pricey clothes pulling back, the brands cannot cover the costs. 

In the past, excess has always been a gateway to help define elites, but now even the brands looking to keep these consumers alive are responding with this new unexpected trend.

The world of travel has always gone hand in hand with consumptive fads. In the 1920s Egypt was all the rage and it could be seen in the geometrical shapes that were preferred in shift dresses, Cleopatra-inspired eye makeup and art movements that captured the Pharaoh's tombs. The playful charm of the 60s was propelled by London's rebellious youth and India was all the rage shipping out Bollywood to the globe and popularising handkerchief dresses and bling.

To differentiate themselves, elites have looked at unattainable trips and spoils to hotels and sporting events. Indicative of this change is China's luxury buyers dropping by 20 percent year-on-year. More than 50-million consumers have been lost in the great high end love affair by November 2024. While there has been constant communication about younger consumers willing to invest in sustainable brands, Vogue reports marketing would be the key to brands winning back the millions of big spenders. So how have they done it through travel?

Brands like Prada have caught on to the lust for off-peak travel by collaborating with hotels to offer branded linen, dining experiences and merchandise for on location tennis and padel play. And if you thought sleeping your way to the top would help you keep up with the Joneses, get ready for Le Cafe Louis Vuitton where a burger can set you back R3,000. 

With many in society able to embody the look of Shiv Roy, these new trends cut out wealth cosplayers and create unattainable spaces, leisure according to Fortune has become a commodity. To differentiate themselves from lower classes, today's 1% is looking down at nine to fives and embracing a world that does not mirror the recessions and economic troubles plaguing different countries.