Fashion brands get makeover in China

French store Galeries Lafayette has come up with a new approach to entice customers with affordable, exclusive labels from the likes of Topshop

Fast fashion chain Topshop's first retail outlet on the Chinese mainland opened in August, with lines of young women eager to see what the British brand had to offer.

But this was not just another store opening in one of the countless malls that have sprung up across urban China during the past decade, it was an indication of the subtle shift in the nation's shopping culture.