Fashion's Piercing Obsession Is The Antidote To The Quiet Luxury Trend

Refinery29

a day ago

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I'm exhausted by the ' quiet luxury ' trend. The understated look, popularized by brands like The Row and Totême and cultural drivers like Succession, has dominated the fashion industry for nearly two years — causing the market to feel saturated with lackluster, albeit universally appealing, basics. As a result, those with a more alternative sense of style (like me) are left craving something edgier and grittier, like an asymmetrical silhouette, playful textile combinations, or some eye-catching adornments — something with a more distinctive personality. Thankfully, I'm not the only one looking to disrupt the khaki trench coat haze, and designers across the fashion industry are taking cues from the punk movement by refreshing a timeless motif that has also fortified me during trying times: a piercing.
While my early experience with piercings was sneaking off to New York City at the age of 17 to visit a dubious smoke shop-turned-piercing parlor on St. Mark's, designers are proposing something different — using piercing-like designs to adorn every garment and accessory imaginable. Versions of metal horseshoes, captured bead hoops, and barbells can now be found on everything from shoes to bags, shirts to skirts, sunglasses to belts, and more. Whether you're simply a fan of the look or have real piercings of your own, incorporating them into fashion is a way to engage with the trend without committing to the trials and tribulations of body modification, pain, or aftercare. Can't (or don't want to) get your nipples pierced? Try the Skims push-up bra or the Mugler bodysuit with a faux set of embellishments.
The very act of piercing is deliberate, combined with a bit of pain and determination, so using piercings in clothes and accessories creates a sense of impact. Punk subcultures have used piercings as a vehicle of self-expression and rejection of societally-imposed beauty standards since the '70s, and the 'other-ness' of having piercings created a sense of belonging among people who had them. While piercings today are more widespread and accepted by mainstream society than they used to be, utilizing them as adornments in fashion still seems to be a rebellion of sorts against the 'beige-wash of quiet luxury,' as Ssense womenswear buying director, Isla Lynch, puts it. 'The introduction of piercing and hardware to classic silhouettes has offered a subtle edge and individuality to dressing again,' she tells Refinery29.
And while piercings are certainly not new to fashion, Tory Burch's Pierced Mules and Pierced Slingbacks, leather flats with metallic hardware at the toe, seemed to kick off the latest wave of embellishments. The designer debuted the styles as part of the brand's spring/summer 2023 collection, and they became so popular that Burch began adding the metal detail to nearly every shoe style — from sandals to slides, pumps, and wedges — before recently expanding to pierced tote bags. Celebs including Elizabeth Olsen, Mindy Kaling, Ella Emhoff, and Joey King have been spotted wearing various versions of the shoe; fashion editors everywhere endorsed the style. The style was a stark, refreshing change of pace for the brand, which was — until then — known for preppy, classic designs.
Today, several other luxury labels are leading the charge. Lado Bokuchava has designed numerous shoes, bags, and garments adorned with silver hoops and horseshoes in recent seasons. Melitta Baumeister incorporated chunky piercings on various tops, boots, and gloves in both spring/summer and fall/winter 2025 collections, while Aknvas showed a pierced dress and matching scarf in its spring/summer 2025 collection. Among other accessory iterations, Déhanche designed a belt with dangling hoops, while brands like Dezi and Arcus sell sunglasses fitted with studs and barbells.
Justine Clenquet, founder and designer at her namesake brand, has created a business around necklaces, bracelets, and earrings embellished with piercings of their own. 'I think the trend reflects a desire for more personal and expressive fashion,' Clenquet tells Refinery29. 'It's a way to play with identity,' she explains, but notes that the concept is far from new, given that 'brands like Vivienne Westwood [and] Jean Paul Gaultier have been doing it since the '90s.'
Indeed, the punk influence has been alive and well in fashion for decades. Gaultier and Westwood were among the first major designers to incorporate body piercings into high fashion, a time when body modification was still considered somewhat subversive. Gaultier and Westwood sent models with facial piercings down the runway at their spring/summer 1994 and fall/winter 1993 shows, respectively. Shortly after, piercings became the focal point of John Galliano's 2004 collection of 'Hardcore' bags for Dior.
Today, these vintage pieces are some of the more rare and expensive designs on the resale market. Dior's coveted Hardcore Pierced Saddle Bag is hard to come by and, depending on the condition, can easily cost upwards of $5,000 on resale sites. For comparison, a plain black saddle bag of the same calfskin fabrication from the same year can be found for as low as $1,750 on some sites. Even today, the pierced version of Balenciaga's Le Cagole bag is often priced at over $1,000 more than its plain black counterpart.
As a perpetually gender-dysphoric nonbinary person, the piercing trend resonates with me in a way many other fashion fads don't. Throughout my life, piercings have helped me reclaim my body and gender. I had more than 15 by the time I graduated college, and still distinctly remember the euphoria I felt after seeing my eyebrow piercing for the first time — I felt like I finally recognized the reflection looking back at me in the mirror. While embedding metal into my clothes, shoes, and accessories doesn't quite achieve the same feeling, in some ways it has a similar effect: imbuing confidence in my self-image and instilling a feeling of protection, almost like armor. Metal is fortifying, and as I still mourn my body's rejection of some of my piercings over the years (RIP), at least my wardrobe can still bridge the gap and still make me feel at home in my fleeting visage with faux metallic accents. Body piercings are only semi-permanent after all, but a pierced purse is forever.
Though the majority of people shopping this trend might not be in the midst of a lifelong battle against societally-imposed gender norms, the heavy metal look still speaks to its wearer's desire to subvert prescriptive aesthetics. While the impact of a pierced bag isn't quite the same as flesh-and-blood modification, they're both a means of self-expression and, in many cases, self-confidence.