One look at any given year's celebrity street style can tell you Hollywood's elite are, well, loaded. But in 2024, stars like Jennifer Lopez, Hailey Bieber, Rihanna, and Taylor Swift tended to wear their bank account balances and billionaire valuations on their sleeves.
The beige tyranny of "quiet luxury"—a term coined in early 2023 to describe high-quality, minimalist fashion that signaled wealth in its simplicity—came to an end in celebrity street style this year. Instead of plain neutrals and anonymous leather bags, celebrities' everyday outfits (for non-red-carpet occasions, at least) dialed up the volume on exaggerated textures, bold prints, rare jewelry, and logos big enough to see from space. Even when these outfits included a proverbial, accessible "low" (like Ugg boots, Birkenstock sandals, or Longchamp Le Pliage bags), celebrities styled them with clothing on the other—Mt. Everest "high"—end of the spectrum. Forget being "just like" their biggest fans; these outfits reminded anyone looking on that they're in their own untouchable stratosphere.
There's no one-way celebrities took on the loud luxury trend; they tailored it to their own wardrobes and personal tastes. For an A-lister, loud luxury is going to church in $ 10,000 worth of leopard prints (like Hailey Bieber, dressed in Toteme and Saint Laurent) or going to dinner in vintage Dolce & Gabbana furs with an equally fuzzy Louis Vuitton bag (like Rihanna). It translated to matching a Chanel flap bag to every sequin, floral, and animal print in your wardrobe (like Blake Lively). Or, if you're Selena Gomez, it's debuting your billionaire status with Prada bags and an endless array of designer little black dresses via Saint Laurent, Valentino, and Versace.
But no celebrity embodied the loud luxury trend quite like Jennifer Lopez and her Birkin bag collection. Lopez flaunted at least ten this year—Hermes's most recognizable and exclusive piece. In past years, she most often carried hers with gym clothes or jeans, but in 2024, the Unstoppable star paired them with oversized fur coats, see-through naked shoes, and printed dresses. In a year partially defined by divorce and a canceled tour, Lopez's outfit choices said she'd keep living out loud regardless of what's happening in the tabloids. And there's no better retail therapy in her world than shopping for a new Kelly bag.
The loud luxury trend's dominance even spread to celebrities who usually reserve their biggest designer credits for the red carpet or their world tour. Taylor Swift shed some of her girl-next-door street style signatures in favor of bolder logos and "Bejeweled" accessories, from a $54,000 Louis Vuitton watch to Dior's saddle bag and several Gucci-printed going-out outfits. She's at the height of her powers musically and, per her 2023 Time Person of the Year interview, done with trying to hide her life, relationships, and ambition. Her custom diamond rings and Chanel chain necklaces are a manifestation of that personal mission.
Overall, some of the loud luxury trend's new rise is the fashion pendulum doing what it does best: swinging back where it came from. Designers throughout the Paris, Milan, and New York shows have abandoned incognito mode styling for sequins, animal prints, and exaggerated shapes that take up space. They've also revived definable archival pieces from the early aughts—like the Louis Vuitton Speedy or the Balenciaga City Bag. Meanwhile, the Data But Make It Fashion site reports searches for "quiet luxury" are declining nationwide. Flying under the radar is only so fulfilling for so long. Ask any celebrity who's gone off the grid only to make an oh-so-sweet major comeback.
And for A-listers, there's a stronger connection between runways and real life than how the other 99.9% dress. Celebrity street style is as much a business as it is pure self-expression. Some street style looks layer on the double-G or -C logos because they're contractually obligated to include them. As luxury sales worldwide start to decline, per Reuters—and spending power for the average shopper decreases with it—designers rely on their most influential ambassadors and walking billboards to ignite desire and maintain interest until the markets rebound and more of us can treat ourselves to luxury bags and shoes.
The loud luxury trend can also be seen through a more straightforward lens: these celebrities are savvy businesswomen who have worked hard for their wealth and want to enjoy it. This is especially true for newly minted billionaires like Swift and Gomez, who seem intent on showcasing that their success and spending power stems directly from their own efforts. And in a post-girlboss, post-cancel-culture internet, they can tune out the "Eat the Rich" criticism online to the sound of their Birkins' charms singing their own little tune.
So trust that the next time you spot Hailey Bieber in $90 Adidas or Selena Gomez in her Birkenstock sandals, their recognizable friends Louis, Fendi, and Prada will probably be nearby. Because they’re not just like us—and they can afford to make that perfectly clear.
