Critical acclaim and a celebrity following are no insurance for surviving the global recession. Just ask Luella Bartley! The Designer of the Year at the 2008 British Fashion Awards has been forced to close down her Luella label following the loss of one of its main suppliers.

Luella's Italian production ...

Financial crisis? What financial crisis? That's the attitude of Harvey Nichols customers, who are still happy to fork out the big bucks for luxury handbags.

A representative from the retail chain's Knightsbridge store said one customer recently parted with £15, 000 for a hand-made alligator leather purse from American designer ...

Men may be tightening their belts, but a report by Reuters says the financial crisis hasn't tempered the shopping habits of women. While sales of Swiss watches and other male extravagances have slumped, women's handbags from luxury labels like Louis Vuitton and Hermes are enjoying increased sales.

While men ...

It looks like Escada may be the latest victim of the financial crisis. The German fashion brand appears to be on shaky ground, with chairman Bruno Saelzer admitting he's spoken with insolvency experts.

The company is thought to have enough liquidity to last until August, but not beyond ...

Comme des Garçons has launched a limited edition Black Label fashion range in answer to the financial crisis. The French label's creative director Rei Kawakubo says the back-to-basics range is an "emergency reaction to the recession."

Eleven Black Label outlets will open in some of the world's fashion capitals. London's ...

Here's some good news for Dolce & Gabbana enthusiasts. While the financial crisis sees most of us tightening our belts, the design duo's famous lines will now be more affordable. Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana are lowering the prices of their main and D&G collections from 10 to 20 ...

The financial crisis seems to have touched everyone, from Miss Joanne Average on the street to our favorite fashion houses. Prada is the latest luxury label to feel the strain of the current economic climate, with The Financial Times reporting the brand has asked banks to ease the ...

Like so many luxury labels, Burberry has felt the sting of the economic crisis, posting a £6 million loss for the last financial year. The loss stemmed from the cost of writing down the value of its Spanish stores, and charges for staff layoffs.

But it’s not all ...

The recent semi-annual update to Bain's Luxury Goods Worldwide Market Study predicts a continuance in the luxury industry's downturn. Honestly, I'd be surprised to hear that anyone expected otherwise.

Although the study showed a 15-20% decline in the first two quarters of this year, there is hope for the rest of 2009. They expect the decline to slow ...

Bag lovers in Hong Kong are beating the financial crisis by snapping up second-hand luxury purses.

Pre-loved Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Chanel handbags bring massive crowds to Milan Station in Causeway Bay. Yu Chan is a regular visitor who began to look for second-hand purses in ...

The team from luxury online store Net-a-Porter is preparing to launch their new discount outlet, cutely called OutNet.com. Next month the budget hotspot will start selling luxury handbags, apparel, lingerie, and other accessories for a fraction of their retail cost.
"On offer will be a mix of the former season's ...

They might have more money than the rest of us, but even Hollywood style icons are tightening their designer belts in the financial crisis. Some of my favorite starlets shared their budget style tips at the recent New York Fashion Week.

Michelle Trachtenberg keeps her quirky style image ...

The global economic crisis has claimed its latest fashion victim. San Francisco-based designer Rene Huber baby's, Goldenbleu, is shutting its doors.

I've always loved Goldenbleu's quirky style and bold color choices, so I'm really sorry to see it disappear from the fashion scene. The diagonally striped Andie Wallet and ...

It seems everyone is feeling the pinch of the financial crisis, and that includes our favorite handbag designers. Marc Jacobs has already canceled its famous holiday party and Fashion Week bash, but desperate times call for even more desperate measures. So now the luxury label is ...

You know times are tough when the iconic fashion labels of the world are struggling. Chanel is one designer who's taken a real battering in the economic downturn. It was recently forced to cut short its mobile art exhibition tour, and now comes news that 200 jobs ...

The economic crisis has claimed a new fashion victim. First we heard the latest Louis Vuitton store in Japan is on ice, and now it seems the Chanel Mobile Art Pavilion will wrap up its world tour early. The futuristic pavilion, designed by award winning architect Zaha ...