Logos in Decline?

An article in the 9 November 2024 Wall Street Journal suggests some people are tiring of being walking advertisments:

The New Status Move: Designer Logos So Subtle They’re Barely There.

Mind you, I am not sure this is progress. It turns out miniscule logos can be intended to assert one's status to the knowing, not hoi polloi. The article observes:

In an influential 2010 Journal of Marketing study exploring the concept of “quiet luxury,” the authors argued that subtle brand cues act as “horizontal signals” (i.e., communicating from one wealthy person to another), rather than “vertical signals” (from the wealthy to non-wealthy).

But thanks to social media, a wider group of enthusiasts is becoming aware of subtle signifiers, says Joseph Nunes, a professor at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business who co-wrote that 2010 study. “Nothing is secret anymore in the digital age. Hardly anyone might have recognized a Loro Piana Extra Pocket bag a few years ago, but consumers now see these niche products all over social media,” he said, referring to a pouch with a small “LP” and “Loro Piana” etched on the zippers that starts at $2,450 and has become an unlikely luxury holy grail for many women.