Quiet Luxury Is Out: The PrettyLittleThing Collapse and the New Face of Fashion Influence
There’s always a moment when a trend turns. When the aesthetic that once felt aspirational suddenly feels empty. When audiences start side-eyeing what they used to screenshot. That moment came for quiet luxury the minute PrettyLittleThing tried to rebrand itself into it early this March 2025.
The brand that built its empire on bodycon dresses and influencer party looks attempted a hard pivot. With muted tones, minimalist silhouettes, and Naomi Campbell as the face of a new collection, PrettyLittleThing called the shift “a legacy in progress.” But audiences aren’t buying it. In any sense of the word.
The Beige Rebrand No One Asked For
The rebrand landed with all the grace of a satin jumpsuit in a puddle. TikTok creator @elysiaberman broke it down bluntly, comparing PLT’s rebrand to “putting lipstick on a pig.” Like Claire’s trying to become Cartier. Commenters agreed. It felt like a parody of quiet luxury, not a real entry into the conversation.
One viral post compared one of the new looks to a “crumpled up McDonald’s bag,” and honestly, that was generous (The Sun, 2025). Meanwhile, BuzzFeed reported that some viewers took the new direction as a strange pivot toward conservative values, with others confused about who PLT was actually trying to dress (BuzzFeed, 2025).
Overall, it didn’t feel elevated but more like an identity crisis. And the timing couldn’t have been worse.
Quiet Luxury Isn’t Trending. It’s Tired.
Quiet luxury was already unraveling long before PLT tried to iron it flat. In early 2025, fashion commentary from @databutmakeitfashion called it clearly. The trend peaked in 2024. By fall, audiences were getting bored. The uniformity. The subtle flexing. The hollow elegance. It had all started to feel like a performance that no one believed anymore.
Angela G.W. described it best in her article The Loudness of Quiet Luxury, A Social Paradox. She writes, “All luxury, to some degree, is for the eyes of the people around you” (Angela G.W., 2025). The problem with quiet luxury wasn’t that it was tasteful but that it relied on people pretending taste was the whole point.
The fantasy was already falling apart. And PLT’s rebrand didn’t revive it. It just made the fall impossible to ignore.
What’s Replacing It? Personality. Chaos. Real Clothes.
The cultural mood has shifted. The fashion world is dressing weird again. In a good way.
Character dressing is everywhere. Mob wife styling is all over TikTok. Maximalism is back, and so is emotional styling. People are tired of algorithmic chic. They want looks that feel specific. Looks that come from somewhere and that feels like the person wearing them.
As @databutmakeitfashion pointed out in that same reel, we’re finally moving into a space where “loud luxury” is coming in hot with bold prints, textures, silhouettes, and hues. It’s about actually showing up in clothes that mean something.
The Brands Who Get It
The ones winning right now are the ones who never flattened themselves to fit a mood board. Sandy Liang. Collina Strada. Susan Fang. They’re not appealing to some vague aspirational ideal. They’re building emotional universes. Their clothes are playful, sharp, specific, and alive.
Even small vintage curators are pulling more influence than major mall brands right now. Because it’s less about polish and more about point of view.
The Final Word
PLT didn’t kill quiet luxury. They just proved how far it had already fallen.
The audience isn’t asking for more beige. They’re asking for better instincts, better taste, and better fashion. And most of all, better storytelling.
Quiet luxury was once a signal of restraint. Now, it’s a warning sign. When a brand tries to use it as a shortcut to credibility, we see through it instantly. Because taste doesn’t come prepackaged, and real style never needs a tagline.
References
Angela G.W. (2023, September 21). The loudness of quiet luxury: A social paradox. Medium. https://medium.com/@angelagw/the-loudness-of-quiet-luxury-a-social-paradox-74dfe23d2a30
@databutmakeitfashion. (2024, December 6). Is loud luxury the new quiet luxury? [Video]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DDSAnJ5NdlU/?igsh=azlna2JtNGdmaDl1
@elysiaberman. (2025, March 3). My thoughts on the @prettylittlething rebrand as a creative director [Video]. TikTok. https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTjetmYr7/
Valko, A. (2025, March 12). People are saying this fast fashion brand’s new look is a sign that “Right Wing is In”. BuzzFeed. https://www.buzzfeed.com/alanavalko/pretty-little-thing-clean-girl-rebrand-right-wing
Wilson, A. (2025, March 5). PRETTY POOR: Shopper tests out PLT’s rebrand but it ends in a total fail – people say she looks like a ‘crumpled up McDonald’s bag’. The Irish Sun. https://www.thesun.ie/fabulous/14823730/pretty-little-thing-rebrand-outfit-fail-crumpled-mcdonalds-bag/
