Affordable luxury comes to the fore

Middle class turning away from high-profile expensive brands

Last year definitely ended with two widely differing stories in the fashion world in China, with traditional well-known luxury brands experiencing a downturn while more affordable luxury products and fast fashion brands turning in satisfactory results.

China's luxury market contracted for the first time in 2014, with the total market value slightly down by 1 percent year-on-year to reach 115 billion yuan ($18.34 billion), according to consultancy firm Bain & Company. Sales of luxury watches dropped the most significantly by 13 percent last year, while menswear dropped 10 percent.