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Lust for luxury drives Paris fashion shows

www.chinanews.cn 2006-03-01 11:38:51

(Source: Agencies)

A model presents a creation for Issey Miyake by Naoki Takizawa during the
Autumn/Winter 2006-07 ready-to-wear collections in Paris, 28 February
2006.

PARIS, March 1 - Global hunger for luxury goods means big bucks for the
Paris fashion industry even though high unemployment and weak growth are
making European consumers more thrifty.
Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto kicked off a week of glitzy displays in
the first major show of the Paris autumn-winter collection late on
Sunday, parading models in oversize men's suits with coats draped like
blankets over their shoulders.
"Hiding the body is always mysterious and sexy," the soft-spoken Yamamoto
told Reuters after the show. "It's not like those tiny little cheap
things."
Catwalk shows are a costly affairs for fashion houses but they are an
important publicity event. Companies hope to lure the attention of
consumers not only to the clothes but also to a brand's accessories such
as hand bags or perfumes.
At this season's shows, fashion houses are set to spend millions of
dollars on gifts and renting exclusive locations such as Paris's giant
Grand Palais for their shows.
Paris fashion firms have had a good year, analysts say, and more is to
come thanks to a growing luxury-hungry middle class in countries such as
the United States, China and Japan.
But even money-conscious consumers, who aim to keep a tight watch on
their wallet, are tempted by expensive goods.
"There is the so-called 'trading up, trading down' phenomenon," one
Paris-based sector analyst said.
"You have consumers who accept to go to discount stores to buy some
things, in order to free up purchasing power on higher valued goods, such
as jewelry and leather goods," he said.
Lindsay Owen-Jones, chairman at L'Oreal SA, the world's largest cosmetics
company, said he noticed a similar phenomenon.
"Everything I see is that it is the top of all our ranges that is
performing best. It's a very paradoxical situation," Owen-Jones said
earlier this month.
"Every time I see a new mini-BMW pull out of a garage it makes me
hysterical. That is money I should have. Our competition is not only
cosmetics manufacturers. It's about all those people who sell these
unnecessary luxury products to my consumers. They even sold one to my
wife!" he said.

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