South Africa, Dec. 31 -- In many European markets, understated luxury dominates. Logos are discreet, craftsmanship is coded, and recognition is reserved for those already fluent in the language of belonging.

Across large parts of Africa, however, luxury is often worn visibly. Designer brands are more prominent, more expressive, more public. To some global observers, this contrast is dismissed as flashy or unsophisticated.

That reading is not only inaccurate. It is intellectually lazy.

Status signalling is not about taste. It is about stability.

Decades of consumer psychology research show that the way people signal status shifts depending on their social and economic environment.

Studies on brand prominence and inconspicuous consumpt...