Study 32: From 'Quiet Luxury' to Post-Growth Citizen: A PLCFA Perspective on Discerning Consumption

The "Quiet Luxury" phenomenon, widely interpreted as a simple aesthetic shift away from logos, is not what it appears to be. It is, in fact, the most visible tremor of a foundational crisis within the traditional luxury system. The legacy model has been hollowed out by its own success, creating a "Scarcity Paradox" that has destroyed rarity and a profound "price fatigue" in consumers who are quietly rebelling against a system where value is no longer tethered to any material reality. This study argues that this popular aesthetic is only Phase 1 of a critical, three-stage evolution in discernin