morning computer shiny

Ram Han.

Sean Monahan on casual California affluence, among other things:

It’s not rustic like it’s East Coast cousin. Its cues are suburban rather than rural. And unlike the #oldmoney meme on TikTok, there’s no conspicuously shiny veneer of wealth. No Rolls Royce, no manicured cypress trees, no English riding equipment. Casual affluence is subtle, implicit, and in that way irritating, because it is constructed out of the same things any middle class family may have (only slightly different).

Stealth-wealth wasn’t shiny. I say “wasn’t” because I read recently that quiet wealth is over. It wasn’t this article, but it covers similar ground.

Despite having no obvious branding or showy colours, the Loro Piana look is distinctive. Damien Bertrand, Loro Piana’s CEO, is a case in point: sitting in his office in the brand’s headquarters – a historic palazzo in central Milan – he’s dressed in head-to-toe navy, wearing a long-sleeved polo knit, slim-fit trousers and a pair of the brand’s minimal Summer Walk loafers. The look is relaxed, easy, yet unassumingly rich; a look that, with the help of shows such as Succession, is now widely understood to be emblematic of the Loro Piana brand. You may recognise it via Gwyneth Paltrow, who wore Loro Piana in court last year, or on David Beckham and Oprah Winfrey. Its unbranded, rubber-soled Walk slip-ons have become a quiet signifier among tech billionaires and art dealers alike.

“We are not about logos, we are not about branding – we are discreet…”

That company’s been running for a century. They’re not going anywhere, but it would seem that this year they will fade into the background again, disappearing against navy curtains and padding softly away to meet the people who are in the know. While everything else gets loud and shiny again.