Why London Became So Yesterday as a Fashion Capital?

London has given the world Mary Quant miniskirts, Paul Smith suits and Burberry bikinis. It pulses as a day-to-day creative hub. Virtually all the star designers live and work there. The city’s vibrant music and art scene, its street culture, vintage design schools, they say, make it one of the world’s most inspiring places. But as a fashion capital, London is over. Though designers still blossom there, their business is elsewhere. No big fashion houses draw crowds at London Fashion Week. Even Britain’s biggest brand, Burberry, has hiked up its skirts and walked off to Milan. Pringle of Scotland, another British proudest brand, is also protruding Milan(http://entertainment.news.designerz.com/british-fashion-takes-milan-by-storm.html?d20050223).
What causes London’s loosing its limelight? Let’s have a look at UK’s clothing market. There are more and more cheap or midprice chains lining the main shopping streets in nearly every British town. People substitute low-price trendy wears for luxury designer wears. Even people that have relatively high income now choose to mix and match the low-price with the luxury. Since there are a variety of substitutes, the elasticity of demand for designer wear is pretty high. As people are consuming less luxurious clothes, the price should drop with the decrease of demand. However, those world-famous brands would rather choose other markets than lowering the prices. Therefore, upscale fashion business flows abroad.