News: Paris Haute Couture Show Spring 2006

Haute Couture: The Ultimate Luxury Market for Fashion
By: Heide Winkenwerder

LOS ANGELES, Nov 30, 2005/ FW/ --- The Paris Haute Couture season slated from Monday, January 23, 2006 to Thursday, January 26, 2006 seems so far away, yet the holiday spending of the affluent market here in the U.S. gives a bird’s eye-view on the prospects of the made-to-measure craft for the coming season.

In a recent survey by the American Affluence Research Center, "Affluent Market Tracking Study #8", AARP projected that the wealthiest 10% of U.S. households will spend about $57 billion in gifts for the holiday season.

The ‘affluent market’ has been defined as the wealthiest 10% of Americans, roughly 11 million households representing about half of all consumer income and spending a third of the total U.S. economy. These are the consumers who have helped the more upscale retail outlets to out perform others in recent years.

Though the numbers are high at a projected $57 billion spending this year, it is actually 1.6% below 2004 spending levels.

The survey actually tracks 17 categories of products and services for future spending plans, and holiday gifts spending is one of them.

The same survey showed that charitable contributions, political contributions and home computer equipment are the only categories out of the 17 to show improvement from the last survey.

All 14 other categories declined from the Spring survey. The Future Spending Index average, at 91.8, is at its lowest level since tracking began in Fall 2003.

Noteworthy in this survey is the affluent will spend more on computer equipment during the coming months. Like almost everyone else in the U.S., they are ‘online’ and using the internet more and more as a source of information.

With apparel & accessories among the 14 categories showing a decline, the haute couture fashion houses have their work cut out for them as they try to lure the affluent to spend more on fashion.