The luxury goods market is growing steadily despite the meltdown of financial markets. There’s a theory on Wall Street: When women’s hemlines go up, so do stocks. Well, the hemlines were falling at New York’s Fashion Week in September 2007, predicting the dramatic stock market fall and financial turmoil that followed. Longer dresses require more fabric, and that means higher price tags and women will still pay them.

According to analysts, given the increase in the number of global millionaires and line extensions that bring high-end labels to the hand of mass customers, future growth is the natural trend for luxury fashion houses that innovate. Growth will also be fuelled by the numerous countries worldwide whose expenditure for luxury fashion outweighs both salary and available luxury options. As brands become global, it is necessary for them to remain flexible. This means they need to have a greater command of different cultures worldwide, high level of costumer services and the ability to meet different definitions of luxury all over the world.

A new luxury brands trend in BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) is to leave the 5-star hotels retail spaces and relocate to specialized department stores to give greater access to the local consumer.