英语文摘:Quality, not bargains chased at Copenhagen Fashion Week

Analysts said the economic crisis led to a shakeout of the fashion retail industry. Only those with financial muscle and willingness to cut jobs, collections and styles have survived, while others have offered their collections priced low to appeal to a wider range of consumers.

So is it a bad idea to flaunt expensive fur garments straight after a recession which has hit Europe particularly hard?

Gaspard Yurkievich, a Paris-based designer who showcased a fur collection at the CFW opening show, did not think so.

"Oh no! Did you notice that the luxury brands are going very, very well?" he said. "Unfortunately, in our society, I know there exists economic problem. But luxury has no problem!"

Jean Theodorides, a representative for Giorgio, a Paris-based luxury brand exhibiting at the CFW, echoed the sentiment.

"We had a 30 percent increase in sales last year, because, crisis or not, people want to buy good stuff."

Others were less upbeat. "The sales have been okay, but we are selling more accessories like boots and hats, than coats," Alex Petersen, the chief executive of Danish fashion house Mogens, said.

EXPORT SUCCESS

The rise in accessory sales has been witnessed across the fashion industry in Denmark, regardless of the material used.

According to Dansk Mode and Textil, a trade association of Danish textile and clothing companies, exports reached 21.8 billion Danish kroners (4.03 billion U.S. dollars), representing 93.5 percent of the Danish fashion industry's entire annual turnover in 2010.

Exports of accessories such as leather ware, jewellery and footwear brought in another 6 to 8 billion Danish kroners (1.11 to 1.48 billion dollars) in the same year.

Traditionally, Scandinavian fashion has catered to a wide range of consumers. Its combination of innovation, elegance and affordability has made it a success. Continued growth will now likely hinge on maintaining design innovation and exploiting Nordic nations' existing advantages in the fur trade.