Forget about quiet luxury: the buzzword for 2026 is “timeless.”
As the sector seeks to regain its footing after a turbulent two years, brands are putting the accent on heritage and longevity, making the case for luxury as investment.
A case in point is Louis Vuitton, which kicked off the year with a splashy outdoor campaign marking the 130th anniversary of its Monogram motif, one of the most valuable pieces of intellectual property in luxury history.
For his fall men’s collection, creative director Pharrell Williams offered a collection that skewed more classic than in recent seasons, while simultaneously looking to the future.
It was rooted in ’80s nostalgia, with classic suits and tailored coats rubbing shoulders with colorful sportswear and novelty accessories, like a bag shaped like a silver boom box. The twist? Almost every look came loaded with innovation, equating durability with the notion of performance.
Classic houndstooth, herringbone and check suiting fabrics were made to turn reflective under light, perfect for cycling after dark (pants were tucked into socks to telegraph the idea). Silky parkas came bonded with water-repellent membranes, while a crinkled Harrington jacket was woven with aluminum thread.
Like many designers this season, Williams was thinking about Ralph Lauren, whose preppy style is having a Gen Z-fueled revival. “Ralph Lauren is a huge inspiration for me,” the entertainer said before the show.
“But if you think about Savile Row, which he’s largely inspired by, too, and Bond Street, they have the most amazing, noble textiles, like super regal textiles. And it looks good, and it’s very durable — it does last. But what does it do outside of lasting and looking good?” he questioned.
Instead, Williams wanted to introduce to Vuitton some of the technical materials he’s been using at Adidas, citing the example of the German sportswear firm’s patented Climacool technology. “I think that it’s high time that we bring that to a luxurious platform: properties in fabrics that do things,” he said.
That the format of the show failed to highlight these functions was a missed opportunity. Models circled the designer’s Drophaus, a sleek prefabricated home with glass walls designed in collaboration with architecture firm Not a Hotel.
At the start of the show, its interior was bathed in UV light, highlighting the reflective monogram on a trunk. It would have been cool to see some of the looks given a similar glow-up.
In lieu of putting his rain gear through its paces, Williams deployed trompe-l’oeil drop effects, dusting silver crystals on the shoulders of an ice blue shirt, and bedazzling a handsome gray tweed overcoat. After all, the “Cash in Cash Out” singer is famous for his love of bling — as witnessed by the eye-popping diamond necklace and ring he was wearing backstage.
“I like quiet luxury, but I like loud luxury, too, because I’m young, Black, from the ghetto, you know, so I love nouveau riche. Old money is usually quiet luxury, but we want to introduce timeless luxury,” he said.
Williams, who discovered Vuitton through rappers and Harlem tailor Dapper Dan’s bootleg logo designs, also loves the Monogram, which appeared on caps, backpacks and glossy windbreakers, as well as a range of supple bags made from silk and recyled nylon — a clever way to update the brand’s traditional coated canvas. Introduced in 1896, it’s a case study in endurance.
For his bow, Williams wore the Millionaire version of a Monogram belt bag, featuring all-gold hardware and a diamond-paved padlock. The piece will be available to order, he noted. “Of course, we’re gonna share it. Everything is for sale, except my soul,” he quipped.
