Luxury Special: Chinese luxury purchasers now setting global trends

With a continuing boom in the market and rising demand from the newly prosperous, China's luxury consumer market looks increasingly buoyant, according to the 2009 21st Century Deluxe Report.

The report, released last Tuesday, shows a shift in Chinese consumers' attitudes to luxury purchases, one that has seen them graduate from mindlessly chasing fashion to making far more informed choices - and even beginning to set international trends.

In the long-run, says the report, the move to a more mature and knowledge-based consumption pattern in the luxury sector will add to its vitality and sustainability.