Family, fitness and quiet luxury redefine modern status symbols

The New Status Symbols: How Wealth Is Redefined in the Modern Age

Luxury travel, expensive watches, and designer handbags are so last season. Today, those looking to display affluence do so through children, physical fitness, and conscious restraint. A closer look at the new status symbols of our time—and how they're reshaping consumer behavior.

A Rolex on the wrist, a Chanel bag, or lavish vacations: for years, these were the reliable markers of wealth. But their allure is fading. True prosperity is now being redefined. Experts like Australian brand strategist and speaker Eugene Healey describe this shift as the era of "Post-Luxury Status"—a time when labels are losing their weight, while intangible assets like time, health, and family are regaining significance.

The new status symbols are, paradoxically, things that can't be bought outright—yet require considerable wealth to attain. They include subtle indicators of consumption: family, leisure, self-actualization, and privacy. According to Healey, today's status symbols are tied to behavior rather than physical possessions. The ability to disconnect deliberately and share less about oneself is increasingly seen as the ultimate expression of luxury.

Even having multiple children—or founding a large family—has become a marker of affluence in Western circles, not least because childcare often comes with steep costs, notes the brand expert. Parents who can afford private nannies or au pairs while still making time for hobbies and personal fulfillment embody the kind of exclusivity now considered the height of luxury.

Silvia Bellezza, an associate professor at Columbia Business School, examined this cultural shift in her 2023 study, "Distance and Alternative Status Signals: A Unified Framework." She documented a clear move away from traditional consumer symbols, explaining that the new status markers reflect a deliberate distance from what was once seen as proof of wealth and influence. One reason? The growing accessibility of luxury goods. Mass production and global markets have made once-exclusive items far easier to obtain. Where a runway piece was once the ultimate status object, a rare vintage find now carries far more prestige.

Then there's the quality of modern counterfeits: convincing "fakes" have made luxury goods attainable even for those who couldn't otherwise afford them—a development that, ironically, pushes the truly wealthy to seek alternatives. Bellezza's research identifies six key dimensions of the new status symbols: time, quality, conspicuousness, aesthetics, culture, and pace of life. Her central thesis? The higher one climbs the social ladder, the greater the desire to distance oneself from conventional status codes. A Gucci belt from the latest collection, for instance, no longer signals exclusivity.

Instead, a style once dismissed as conservative—or even bourgeois—is making a comeback: the so-called "preppy" aesthetic. Searches for "vintage Ralph Lauren" have surged on secondhand platforms. The brand, which draws its inspiration from elite universities, cowboy mythology, and the American Dream, recently reported a 7% increase in annual revenue, surpassing its own expectations.

Its stock soared by a staggering 54% year-over-year—an impressive feat at a time when luxury giants like Kering (parent company of Gucci) are struggling. Ralph Lauren, with its iconic equestrian logo, Oxford shirts, chinos, and tweed jackets, has long been the uniform of "old money," embodying understatement and tradition. Yet this same style is now being adopted by right-wing conservative circles, despite the brand's history of dressing predominantly Democratic first ladies and donating generously to the party.

That this new conservatism extends beyond fashion becomes painfully clear when outdated gender roles resurface, undermining hard-won progress toward equality. The shift in status symbols isn't just about aesthetics—it's reshaping societal values in ways that demand closer scrutiny.

A recent survey by polling firm Ipsos, conducted in collaboration with Britain's King's College London, reveals strikingly regressive attitudes among Generation Z men (born between 1996 and 2012) across all countries surveyed: 31 percent of male Gen Z respondents believe a wife should obey her husband. One-third think husbands should have the final say in major decisions, while even 18 percent of women in the same age group agreed that wives should defer to their husbands.

By contrast, men and women from the preceding Baby Boomer generation demonstrated far more progressive views in their responses. Experts point to social media as a key driver behind this conservative shift in thinking.

Regardless of political ideology, however, another status symbol has firmly taken root: physical fitness. Expensive workout trends like Pilates are experiencing a genuine boom, evolving into a full-fledged lifestyle discipline in many major cities. At June, a trendy Pilates studio in Vienna, a single session on the Pilates Chair costs €30—a steep price, especially for young people. Yet the classes are consistently fully booked.

Rather than spending money on parties, people today prefer to invest in fitness. Nina Prödl, co-founder of June, sees this as a clear shift in values—and a move away from traditional status symbols. "I don't think it's about status in the conventional sense anymore," she says. "It's about priorities. In the past, people might have flaunted material possessions, but today, they showcase how they live. Movement, good food, routines, or time for themselves have become expressions of quality of life for many young people. If someone does Pilates in the morning or goes for a run, it says something about how much they value health and balance in their daily lives."

She suspects the focus is increasingly shifting toward well-being, driven by the fast-paced nature of modern life. "Many people don't just want to afford things—they want to feel good, both physically and mentally. Exercise is a big part of that." At the same time, the desire for community is growing stronger, Prödl notes. "Belonging plays a huge role. A workout today isn't just about training; it's also a social experience. You meet people, enjoy the energy in the room, and leave feeling better. And people love sharing that." Many of her clients come multiple times a week, know each other well, and have turned their Pilates class into a kind of second living room. "That sense of belonging is incredibly valuable."