“The rich get richer, the poor get poorer, and the middle class either develops higher or it loses ground,” Reinhard E. Dopfer, from the European Fashion and Textile Export Union, told RT. “It’s like that song, you know, about your belly. You do your training at the gym and your belly gets smaller and smaller. This belly was actually the purchasing power in all the western markets.”

Aside from customer strategy for financial survival, companies employed their own key feature – not lowering the prices.

“All the big brands, they never changed their prices during the crisis,” Emmanuel Argemi, export director of Groupe Garella, told RT. “What we did is we tried to create some new brands in our group, some second lines. So without touching our main lines, we brought in a second line that was a little bit cheaper.”

The measures proved to be highly effective. Imports of clothing have already increased by 15 per cent in 2010 – which is good news for businesses whose priority has been just to outlive the crisis, not to profit during it.

“We are happy to be at the same level,” Inanc Ulu from Alchera clothing company told RT. “In this economic crisis, if we stay at the same level it’s good for us. You know? We have to be stable.”

With clothing imports at $4.6 billion in 2008, which dropped 31 per cent in 2009, this recovery is very good news for all involved. If estimations by the Fashion Consulting Group are true, the fashion market might increase by three to four percent in 2010.

Meanwhile, on September 10, Moscow joins a worldwide “shop-till-you-drop” party.

The Fashion Night Out, organised by Vogue Magazine in 14 countries, will feature exclusive sales and music with DJs till midnight.

Trendy TSUM shopping center right by the Kremlin will host a presentation of the latest haute couture collections. The department store’s shops will stay open till 1 a.m., while the festivities start at 8 p.m.

On the first floor, Vogue will hold a photo contest for women visitors, and the winners will appear on the magazine’s cover.

More popular shops will also be taking part. H&M awaits guests at its jeans party at Metropolis, where visitors will get their hair and make-up done in 1980s styles. Also, Trendy Topshop will be hosting junior spenders at the Atrium with a free beauty studio for girls and female DJs will work behind the decks.

Karina Dobrotvorskaya, President of Conde Nast Publishing House, told RT that this year the event is not about the recession

“Originally, the idea was to bring people back to the shops. Last year, we were in the middle of the very heavy recession, so the event was more about shopping and money. Now it is different. In Russia, you can feel that the recession is over. You can feel a different mood. So people come here for fun. This is great,” Dobrotvorskaya said.