Finance

This feature delves into the travel habits of fashion insider Ramya Giangola, a renowned strategist and style icon, as she prepares for her upcoming trips to Paris Fashion Week and Milan. Unlike those who meticulously plan every outfit, Giangola embraces a more relaxed approach, trusting her innate sense of style to effortlessly curate her travel wardrobe. Her packing philosophy emphasizes versatility and comfort, particularly for winter excursions which necessitate additional layers. The article offers a comprehensive overview of her chosen travel items, personal styling tips, and the beauty essentials that keep her looking polished across different time zones. It's an insightful look into how a fashion professional navigates the demands of global travel with grace and practicality.

Ramya Giangola, founder of Gogoluxe and a celebrated figure in fashion, is currently embarking on a journey to Paris Fashion Week, accompanied by her daughter. Following this, they will extend their trip to Milan for a well-deserved period of relaxation. For these extensive travels, Giangola relies on her dependable matte black Away suitcases. These are filled with a carefully selected assortment of luxury items, including cashmere knitwear from Prada, elegant silk scarves from Celine, and form-fitting pieces from the Istanbul-based brand Nackiyé. She notes that winter travel invariably requires extra luggage due to the bulkier nature of coats, sweaters, and boots, underscoring her preference for practical yet stylish solutions rather than attempting to fit everything into a carry-on.

Giangola openly admits to being a last-minute packer, often leaving the task until the day before her departure, especially when faced with the demanding schedule of fashion weeks and international conferences. Despite this, her extensive experience has taught her to pack efficiently without the need for pre-planned outfits. She recalls an instance during a particularly rainy Paris Fashion Week where a power outage forced her to pack by flashlight. Surprisingly, a fashion critic later remarked that her style that season was her best yet, which ultimately led her to abandon the practice of meticulously planning individual looks in advance. This experience reinforced her confidence in her ability to improvise and create cohesive ensembles on the fly, proving that true style often emerges from a more spontaneous approach.

For her vacation wardrobe, Giangola favors specific designers that align with her aesthetic. For summer getaways, Vita Kin is her top choice, known for its vibrant and flowing designs. For other travel scenarios, she gravitates towards Natalie Martin, Nackiyé, and The Park, all of whom offer pieces that resonate with her personal style. When it comes to luggage, her trusty Away suitcases are essential for checked baggage, while a smaller Away carry-on safeguards her most valued possessions during flights. Her go-to carry-on tote is a vintage Phoebe-era Celine bag, chosen for its perfect fit atop her roller suitcase and its classic appeal.

Giangola's in-flight routine is centered on maintaining skin hydration and comfort. She insists on a bare, thoroughly moisturized face, with Skin Design’s Face Tight cream being a non-negotiable for long-haul journeys. For warmth and layering, she prefers sweaters over scarves, often bringing multiple thin knitwear pieces to create versatile looks and add color to her outfits. She particularly commends Rubirosa’s cashmere sweaters for their quality and diverse color palette. Her daily beauty regimen is streamlined, featuring Fara Homidi’s creations, including the Essential Lip Refillable Compact and Adipeau Strength gel, along with Westman Atelier blush, ensuring she looks refreshed and radiant even after long travel days.

Accessories play a pivotal role in Giangola’s travel style, allowing her to elevate simple outfits with thoughtful details. She highlights a wool felted peplum belt with leather strings from Celine as a current favorite, noting its versatility to be worn over a shirt, a coat, or cinched at the waist. Her collection of silk scarves, particularly from Hermès and now Celine, also serves as a key styling element. Given her schedule during Paris Fashion Week, she has embraced the practicality of pouches over large handbags, carrying only essential beauty items and her notebook to transition seamlessly from morning to evening events.

When it comes to the perennial dilemma of packing, Giangola admits to a tendency towards overpacking since she no longer plans specific outfits in advance. This often means checking an extra bag or, occasionally, acquiring a new suitcase to accommodate purchases and gifts. Despite this, she endeavors to leave some space for unexpected finds. A key lesson she's learned over the years is the strategic use of color stories, celebrating the freedom to mix traditionally clashing colors like brown and black. Her most significant realization, however, is the minimal need for numerous shoes, often finding herself reaching for the same comfortable pairs repeatedly.

Giangola’s travel wardrobe consistently features foundational items that offer both comfort and style. She is particularly fond of Nackiyé henleys and long-sleeve knit polos, which she prefers for layering instead of a single thick sweater. This layering technique allows for greater adaptability to varying temperatures and introduces dynamic color contrasts into her ensembles. Another cherished item is from The Park’s Lyocell collection; its exceptional fabric makes it easy to pack and suitable for both casual and formal occasions, solidifying its status as a most-worn vacation piece.

Milan Fashion Week 2026 provided a captivating glimpse into the changing expressions of wealth through fashion, moving beyond the once-dominant 'quiet luxury' trend. This season showcased a dynamic interplay of styles, from the sophisticated minimalism inspired by figures like Carolyn Bessette Kennedy to more avant-garde approaches that playfully challenged traditional high-end aesthetics. The collections reflected a broader societal dialogue about how affluence is perceived and presented, offering a spectrum of looks that ranged from discreet elegance to bold, unconventional displays of prosperity. Designers explored both the aspirational desire to embody wealth and the nuanced reality that financial status is often expressed through diverse and sometimes surprising sartorial choices.

The discussion surrounding the portrayal of affluence in contemporary culture, sparked by popular media, examines how individuals with substantial financial resources choose to dress. This season's Milan runways illustrated a departure from the singular 'quiet luxury' aesthetic, where wealth was subtly indicated by premium, logo-free garments. Instead, a more varied landscape emerged, encompassing everything from meticulously tailored pieces that exude understated sophistication to more expressive designs that incorporate elements of 'DIY' or even a deliberate embrace of what might appear 'fantastically cheap' to an untrained eye. This diversification underscores a fascinating tension between the desire for anonymity and the impulse for ostentatious display among the affluent, highlighting that the definition of 'rich girl' style is increasingly fluid and multifaceted.

The Enduring Allure of Understated Elegance

The concept of 'quiet luxury,' characterized by its emphasis on high-quality, logo-free garments and timeless silhouettes, continues to hold sway within certain echelons of the affluent. This aesthetic draws inspiration from icons like Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, whose classic and refined wardrobe remains a benchmark for sophisticated dressing. Milanese designers, including MM6 Maison Margiela, Jil Sander, and Tod's, paid homage to this enduring style by reinterpreting her signature camel pencil skirts, impeccably tailored pieces, and muted color palettes. This approach suggests that for some, true wealth is expressed not through flashy logos but through the subtle prestige of superior craftsmanship and an understated, confident presence. The revival of such timeless elegance on the runways signifies a cyclical return to classicism, where longevity and intrinsic value outweigh fleeting trends.

The influence of figures like Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, whose fashion choices epitomized an era of subtle sophistication, has profoundly shaped contemporary interpretations of elite dressing. Her preference for streamlined, high-quality garments, often devoid of overt branding, created a blueprint for what is now widely recognized as 'quiet luxury.' This season, designers in Milan captured this essence by presenting collections that prioritize impeccable tailoring, premium fabrics, and a restrained color palette. The runway showcased elegant pencil skirts, luxurious cashmere, and well-fitted outerwear, all designed to convey a sense of inherited style and effortless refinement. Even accessories, such as thick-framed oval sunglasses and precisely styled hair, echoed Bessette Kennedy’s distinctive aesthetic, underscoring the idea that a truly wealthy individual might prefer discretion and timeless appeal over transient, attention-grabbing trends. This trend reflects a desire among some of the affluent to blend seamlessly into their surroundings while still projecting an unmistakable aura of privilege and cultivated taste.

Challenging Norms: From DIY Chic to Overt Ostentation

Alongside quiet luxury, Milan Fashion Week also highlighted alternative expressions of wealth that deliberately challenged traditional norms. This included a 'DIY' aesthetic, where expensive designer outfits were paired with seemingly homemade or deliberately distressed items, suggesting that true affluence allows for a playful detachment from polished perfection. Brands like Bottega Veneta and Prada showcased this by incorporating elements such as hand-knitted scarves and deliberately wrinkled fabrics, implying that for the truly wealthy, the power lies in personal choice and authenticity rather than pristine presentation. Conversely, other designers embraced overt ostentation, featuring crystal-laden dresses, bold accessories, and even symbolic displays of cash on the runway, humorously acknowledging that money itself can be the ultimate status symbol, regardless of how it's expressed through clothing.

The evolving landscape of 'rich girl' style in Milan showcased a fascinating duality, moving beyond the confines of understated elegance. One prominent trend embraced a 'DIY' ethos, where models walked in ensembles that combined high-end designer pieces with elements that appeared handcrafted or deliberately imperfect. This included hand-knitted items and purposefully worn-in garments, signaling that for some, wealth grants the freedom to cultivate a unique, individualistic style that transcends conventional luxury. This approach suggests an ironic detachment from the need to constantly display brand-new, flawless attire, asserting that true power allows for personal expression, even if it mimics a more humble aesthetic. In stark contrast, another segment of the runway reveled in overt extravagance. Collections featured glittering party dresses, lavish accessories, and even models carrying stacks of fake currency, deliberately emphasizing the visual spectacle of wealth. This bold, almost theatrical display playfully acknowledges the aspirational nature of money and its potential to be the ultimate statement piece, regardless of the garment it adorns. These divergent trends collectively underscore a nuanced understanding of affluence, where expression can range from quiet confidence to an unapologetic, and sometimes humorous, embrace of opulence.