Word: fashionability
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...this means fashion lovers are cutting back on spending. "Right now we are seeing signs of de-premiumization - meaning that shoppers are trading down for cheaper items," says Victoria Grankina, a retail analyst at leading Russian investment bank Troika Dialog. "Overall, the luxury market really struggled in December and January, since the consumer was feeling quite under the weather. In March, we have been seeing some signs of stabilization, but we are not sure this is a trend. No one can predict when this will end." (See pictures of Paris couture...
...Rich Russians are accustomed to huge markups on luxury brands sold in their country. Top fashion labels can sell for up to 1,000% of what they would in the U.S. or Western Europe. But factor in inflation and the devaluation of the ruble, and the price is too high for many, says Grankina. "There is a layer of wealthy people who are willing to pay up, but when the ruble falls against other currencies, sellers pass that on to consumers at a time of inflation, so things become much more expensive...
...this attitude that buoys the soul of Russia's biggest fashion designers. "Russian designers are in a more stable situation now," argues Alexander Shumsky, the head of Artefact, the public-relations firm running Russian Fashion Week. "The biggest part of their business is to work with private clients. I've talked to some designers, and they say the situation is not critical - that clients have fallen off only 15% or 20%." At the same time, Shumsky acknowledges that about 10 designers have pulled out of the fashion show this year because of a huge deficit in corporate sponsorships. "The smaller...
...Some high-end foreign boutiques like Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen, which opened in Moscow just a year ago, have also closed their doors. Italian jeans retailer Diesel recently shut all its shops in Russia. Still, if Russia's fashion industry has one thing to put its faith in, it is the Russian consumer's penchant for flair. "It's in the Russian character to be flashy. They'd never go for a simple style. They'd never spend lots of money to look like a street sweeper," says Ageyeva. "That will never change...
...city-state has its defenders. "Dubai-bashing is in fashion right now," says Hassan Jarrar, head of wholesale banking for Standard Chartered Bank in Dubai. "Like most governments, the U.A.E. wants to limit the fears of not just the people inside but also external investors. Are they understating the problem? I don't think so." He insists that "the difference between Dubai and Singapore or Shanghai is, in Dubai, when cranes leave site here, they leave when construction is finished." A trip down Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai's main thruway, named after the U.A.E.'s founder and first President, reveals...