Incognito mode: how dressing under the radar became the ultimate humblebrag

It’s that time of year again: the few weeks when all of the magazines drop their most important edition – the September issue – stuffed with upcoming trends and starry editorials. British Vogue’s cover star of choice is Kylie Jenner, who used her accompanying interview to declare that “it’s all about a baseball cap”. She wasn’t talking about wearing one for style’s sake, but for privacy’s. “There’s an angle that you can do where they can’t see your face, and I wear a mask.” It seems to have been working: “I haven’t had one person notice me. I’ve been really able to get around,” she said of recent trips out in New York.

Incognito dressing is a rich seam. When Naomi Campbell was in London recently ahead of her V&A exhibition, she spoke of having a lot of fun visiting her favourite haunts without being clocked. She’s one of the most recognisable people in the world, with one of the most famous walks, but she was able to make herself unrecognisable. She achieved this, she said, by changing her body language (“I walk in a different way. It’s a very sergeant major walk.”); being very clear of where’s she’s going (“I’m not like dithering around like, ‘Oh, I’m lost’. No, I know where I’m going. I know which door I’m going into if I’m going into Harrods.); and dressing differently (“People think I don’t wear sneakers. I wear them a lot. I love high tops … and a mask.”).

For celebrities who feel they have no place to hide, you can see how nailing incognito dressing could be a lifeline. For everyone else, there has long been something electrifying – and culturally inspiring – about the thought of brushing shoulders with someone with the kind of notoriety, respect, wealth, creative talent and/or bone structure that most of us can only dream of, be it an off-duty writer or a reality star. This idea has long been glamorised. It is the stuff of Hollywood magic – in Roman Holiday a princess, played by Audrey Hepburn, escapes from her gilded palace-prison with requisite tiaras and falls in love with a news reporter in the shape of Gregory Peck. It is the ultimate, fantastical ending to the incognito story.

It isn’t just for famous people, though – we all have a version of incognito dressing, on days when we want to fly under the radar. Maybe it’s jeans and a T-shirt; maybe, as with celebrities, it involves a cap and sunglasses. But today’s fame economy is doing something strange to incognito dressing. If the rise of reality TV, social media and the ubiquity of influencer culture have made the desire for fame more widespread, it’s also blurred the lines. An interesting by-product is the idea of not lusting after fame becoming its own kind of humblebrag.

It is a mood that has filtered down into that most 2024 of mediums: the slogan T-shirt. At Copenhagen fashion week earlier this month, attendees who had at least the superficial trappings of people keen to be photographed wore T-shirts that read “I’m not a fucking influencer”. Outside shows at a recent fashion week in Paris, a guest wore a “No pictures please” top; all slogan T-shirts that seem to deny a desire for attention while simultaneously demanding it.

There is a famous-person equivalent; what we could call the faux-incognito look. In many instances, it involves the same bones as incognito mode – a hat, shades and exaggerated silhouettes – but everything is so elevated that there is no mistaking a celebrity. It is a look you can’t swing a cat for on Hampstead Heath in north London. Jenner namechecks Leonardo DiCaprio, who “has a distinct incognito look that now is not incognito because people know it so well”. Maybe it tries a little too hard. Much more fun – if even less effective – are the famously paparazzi-razzing antics of Dustin Hoffman, who hides behind trees and wears paper bags with eye holes over his head.

What’s hot – and what’s most definitely not – this week

Going up

Stealth voyeurism | Personal chefs to the rich and famous are inadvertently offering glimpses of their clients’ marble kitchen islands, swish knife blocks and fancy stoves. Also: a lot of very aspirational aprons.

Wedding DJs | News that Aphex Twin played his friends’ wedding recently has us wondering how Come On Eileen would sound with added glitch.

Blackberry season | Try it, bite it, lick it, spit it, make it into a crumble and get all up in it.

Going down

Dread-dressing | The dregs of summer have us maxing out dresses, sandals and shorts, in the knowledge that autumn is just around the corner. The sartorial equivalent of making fetch happen; it might be time for some socks.

Melon | The current cucumis of choice is the cucumber. See TikTok for a glut of recipes to make it feel fresh, including one for Din Tai Fung-style cucumbers with more than 25m views.

Burning Man | For the first time since 2011, the desert festival hasn’t sold out. Blame the expense, blame the heat, blame the fact that last year it looked a bit like Fyre festival.

Melanie Wilkinson, styling editor, solves your wardrobe dilemmas

Q: My tight(er) jeans and trousers that I’ve worn in the past autumn/winter season(s) feel a bit out of fashion. Is there a way to style them to make them look more fashionable for autumn/winter 24/25? Or should I invest in a new wide or loose fit pair? I’m petite and wondering if this trend is for me. Anne, London

A: It is true that wide-leg trousers and jeans are having a fashion moment. But I wouldn’t hurry to abandon your closer-fitting bottom halves – they definitely still have a key place in your wardrobe this autumn. I would wear tapered jeans or trousers with loafers and an oversized shirt as a transitional outfit. Tighter, black cigarette trousers will always work as a chic evening option – style them with a black silk long-sleeved blouse (see Khaite autumn/winter 24 for inspiration) or wear them with a polo neck and statement earrings for a timeless, pulled together look. If you do decide to invest in a pair of wide-leg trousers (I say why not – I think they will last you for seasons to come) they are absolutely for you.

Got your own style question? Send it to [email protected].