The 2023 Luxury Report: The Brands, Items, and Trends Defining Designer Fashion

It was the year of quiet luxury and the ready-to-wear renaissance. Alaïa's perpetually sold-out ballet flats were the talk of the town. Prada and Miu Miu continued to set the trends, and the Toryssance dominated conversations among It girls as Tory Burch rose to a new level of cool. Phoebe Philo made her long-awaited return with the launch of her eponymous brand. It was also a time marked by shifts in creative directors at the helms of the biggest fashion houses and emerging trends that are already shaping what style will look like next year. In 2023, luxury fashion saw a palpable shift away from the dopamine dressing and logocentric designs of previous years and toward timeless pieces and value-retaining investment buys, and we are seeing that reflected in everything from celebrity outfits to the top-selling products from the year.

To examine luxury fashion in 2023 with a closer lens, we spoke with industry experts and pulled data to take a more granular look back. In Who What Wear's annual Luxury Report, we discuss what resonated most strongly in designer fashion in 2023—including the brands that made a big mark, the impossible-to-track-down It items that dominated the style set, and how product sourcers are changing the way people shop—and look forward to where fashion is headed in 2024.

This year marked new territory for luxury fashion, and a short list of designer brands claimed the title of most influential. According to an annual womenswear report by TikTok and Karla Otto, the top designer brands of 2023, based on EMV growth, include Prada, Miu Miu, Saint Laurent, and Loewe. Who What Wear's social media statistics provide further insights into the year's top brands, with the highest engagement around Miu Miu's red carpet celebrity looks and the Paris Fashion Week collection for Saint Laurent.

The voluminous, floral-embellished midi skirts on the Prada F/W 23 runway had a big impact on silhouettes this year—influencing the return to A-line skirts with nipped-in waists that are a direct contrast to the super-oversize everything that has dominated fashion for several years. Miu Miu continues to set the bar for everything from styling to top-notch casting on the runway. The Row, yet again, paved the direction for luxe minimalism. Loewe's perfectly cast ambassadors and campaign stars, Taylor Russell and Greta Lee, have been landing on best dressed lists on the red carpet with conceptual pieces from the brand. Saint Laurent has led the front on both editorial mentions and strong sales that have put the brand at the forefront. Bottega Veneta has built an even stronger cult following among the fashion-insider cohort under the design guidance of Matthieu Blazy. Hermès has been practically category-defining across the board in terms of sales and prestige.

Which items dominated in 2023 from a sales point of view? Looking at the data and insights from product sourcers, there is a handful winning out. "It was the year in which Alaïa took over my DMs and beyond," explains product sourcer Gab Waller. "Their fishnet ballet flats have been my number one item sold throughout 2023, and the requests are still coming in as I type this!" The constantly-sold-out Alaïa flats Waller referenced also landed on The Lyst Index's top products of 2023—a report that ranks fashion's hottest products—as did Prada's 3D-flower heels. According to Erica Wright, the founder of Sourcewhere, "The Row '90s bag, especially in ivory white and black, continued to be in high demand." This finding is unsurprising, as the popular bag was sold out throughout 2023 and is currently priced at $1060, a relatively low price point for a bag from a designer brand like The Row. Other items, from the Loewe Squeeze bag to the Gucci Horsebit Chain bag, reached a new level of cool that was clear on the street style scene and in social media feeds. Notably, accessories are continuing to win out in the luxury space.

According to Elizabeth Layne, chief marketing officer of Rebag, "In 2023, consumers were especially focused on investment-worthy styles." Notably, the coveted Hermès Birkin took the lead, as shoppers are looking for pieces that retain and grow value over time. Some sectors of the luxury fashion space are slowing down, but according to a report in Business of Fashion, Hermès sales rose 15.6% year-on-year in 2023, showing a growing appetite among shoppers for timeless, high-quality designer pieces.

The rise in discreet designer pieces, including Hermès buys, also has strong links to the quiet-luxury trend that all but took over fashion in 2023. "I would say the complete obsession with the old money aesthetic and quiet luxury has been interesting to watch unfold," Bonnie Langedijk, founder of Hurs, explains. Designers such as Loro Piana, Brunello Cucinelli, and Max Mara are the true original luxury brands centered around craftsmanship, quality, and subtle sophistication, and they are resonating more than ever. The aesthetic these brands helped to define influenced style overall in a larger way this year. "The prevalence of quiet luxury, which emphasizes understated elegance over ostentation, has ignited a shift away from logo-adorned styles. With many logoless, expertly crafted styles available, heritage brands like Bottega Veneta and The Row have thrived," Layne shares. "Exemplifying the quiet-luxury aesthetic, iconic Hermès styles like the understated Kelly and Constance have also maintained their appeal for decades and show no signs of losing favor."

Why is this resonating now? Economic uncertainty is a possible explanation. Those with a luxury budget don't want to stand out and are investing in nondescript staples instead of obvious logos. Shoppers are investing in pieces that hold their value, such as designer bags and watches, which typically increase in value on the resale market. We've also been seeing quiet luxury reflected in big cultural moments from the year that people have been responding to. The internet buzzed about Kylie Jenner's refined outfits in Paris, Sofia Richie Grainge's understated style, Jennifer Lawrence's new look steeped in pieces from The Row and Alaïa, the fashion in Succession that revolved around cashmere Loro Piana baseball caps and Brunello Cucinelli suiting, and Gwyneth Paltrow's stealth-wealth courtroom looks.

Spotted it? Need it? Can't find it anywhere? That is where product sourcers come in. Product sourcers have launched services to locate every impossible-to-find luxury item across the globe. "My clients send in an Instagram DM or email with an image of the exact item they're looking for, and I handle the rest," Waller explains. "No wasted time scouring multiple websites or messaging multiple people in-store asking if they have it. All you need to do is just ask Gab. I truly believe it is the future of luxury shopping." No matter where you live or your connection to fashion, product sourcers are able to hunt down any designer piece for a fee, and it's changing the way people are shopping. It's also making luxury shopping more attainable. "I truly believe it is the future of luxury shopping," Waller shares. "It's accessible to everyone (no need to be a VIP in order to secure these highly coveted pieces), and it saves you so much time."

What inspires most sourcing inquiries? "Requests are often influenced by rare public appearances of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen," explains Wright. "For instance, when Ashley Olsen was recently photographed wearing a The Row Lady Bag from several seasons ago and a pair of old Céline sandals from the 2014 collection, we received requests for both styles on the app within 24 hours. However, it's not limited to celebrities; our community in the fashion, art, and interior design sphere also serves as a source of inspiration for requests, with customers often referencing their images from Instagram." Waller, too, weighs in on where she sees most requests coming from—noting that a handful of celebrities drive the most sales. "There are a number of names that jump to mind immediately, with the current most influential being Morgan Stewart, Hailey Bieber, and Sofia Richie Grainge," Waller explains. "If they're wearing it, I can almost guarantee that I will receive a request for it."

Alongside the designers that dominated fashion in 2023 are the ones we are deeming the "talk of the town," brands that were on the lips of every fashion insider and garnering an extraordinary level of excitement. We are already predicting they are primed to be even bigger in 2024. Perhaps the buzziest to speak of is the Toryssance, as everyone in fashion is discussing how Tory Burch has risen to a new height of cool. "There's something uniquely special about a brand reinventing itself without needing a new creative director at the helm to shake it up," explains Who What Wear editor Eliza Huber. "Too often, that's the answer to diminishing support in the fashion world—replacement." Huber is referencing how Tory Burch stepped away from her role as CEO when her former LVMH executive husband Pierre-Yves Roussel took the reins in 2019 so she could run the creative side and focus on clothes.

The result has been nothing short of brilliant. The clothes and accessories are excellent. The team has hired top-notch creatives, including stylist Brian Molloy, who also styles runway collections for The Row. The brand was nominated for a CFDA award for Womenswear Designer of the Year in 2023 for the first time since it was launched in 2004. "The pierced toe-ring sandals and mules made such a splash that they eventually made Lyst's Q3 2023 hot list," notes Huber. The editor-favorite shoes are in the wardrobes of at least two Who What Wear editors and are so popular that they have sold out practically everywhere. According to Lauren Sherman at Puck, searches for Tory Burch are up 48% over the past six months. The hype among the fashion community also translates to real numbers and sales.

Ferragamo is another brand that has dominated conversations among fashion insiders. With the appointment of Creative Director Maximilian Davis in 2022, the first collections of the brand were hotly anticipated. While modernizing the brand with many of the ready-to-wear silhouettes, Davis was smart to dig into the archives for inspiration behind many of the most in-demand pieces. The Wanda bag—a boxy bag finished in metal buckles that was originally introduced in 1988—anchored the S/S 23 debut collection for Davis in new colorways, including an airbrushed gradient orange. The Hug bag that launched on the F/W 23 runway, too, taps into the iconic silhouettes and handcrafted artistry of the brand while offering up a fresh design and is already one of the most talked-about pieces in the Who What Wear offices.

Phoebe Philo's long-awaited return also made a mark on fashion in 2023. After exiting Celine in 2017, the designer announced a luxury brand with LVMH under her name in 2021. Philophiles have been waiting for years for the arrival of the new vision of her eponymous brand, which arrived on October 30 of this year to a near sell-out. "Phoebe Philo, Phoebe Philo, and even more Phoebe Philo. Based on my requests since the launch this past week, everything from their accessories (the Peak Sunglasses!) to their handbags and their ready-to-wear will all be in very high demand," Waller tells Who What Wear. "With their direct-to-consumer model, clients will need to continue to be quick to snap up their favorite pieces. It will continue to sell out." Despite high prices and a drop model that has created product scarcity, fashion insiders are quick to agree that this is only the beginning for the newly launched brand.

All eyes were on new creative directors. Designers Sabato De Sarno at Gucci and Peter Hawkings at Tom Ford, who are setting the tone for fashion in 2024, leaned heavily into the archives of the brands. According to TikTok and Karla Otto's 2023 womenswear report, referential fashion from past decades has been rising in marketing and is something we can expect to continue into 2024. "A resurgence of interest in 1990s and early 2000s is driving a new wave of nostalgia marketing," the report indicates. "Nostalgia is sweeping pop culture and, by osmosis, fashion—particularly the 1990s and early 2000s. For many, it represents a more carefree time encapsulated by a definitive aesthetic and peak celebrity culture." A 2023 Gen Z survey by GWI revealed nearly 40% of Gen Zers feel nostalgic for the '90s even though many didn't live through it, showing its importance across key luxury demographics.

Louise Trotter's first collection at Carven, which brings a female perspective back to a heritage fashion house, brought renewed focus and excitement. We're predicting it will be a key brand to watch in the coming year. Similarly, the return of Philo with her namesake brand made a big impact. The A1 drop almost entirely sold out on the first day and is already topping requests for product sourcers, so we expect future sell-outs. Layne agrees: "As the world welcomes her long-anticipated return to the upper spheres of luxury fashion, we cannot wait to see what comes next for Phoebe Philo's eponymous label."

If you are shopping minded and interested in identifying the next big It item early, there is a new-to-drop Chanel shoe style that is already a front-runner. "It may come as no surprise that the requests for Chanel S/S 2024 have already started to filter in," Waller shares, "with the most requested style being their runway white ballet flat."

There is also a refreshing message that luxury pieces are meant to be worn! At the S/S 24 Miu Miu show, bags on the runway were overstuffed with high heels and a change of clothes spilling from inside. These immediately conjured images of celebs such as Jane Birkin and Ashley Olsen, whose Hermès bags were worn-in, beat-up, and stuffed with everything possible. The message? Luxury fashion items are designed to be lived in.