With New York, London, and Milan Fashion Weeks behind us, the final Fashion Week is taking place at present in Paris. Amid the weakening economy and spreading insecurity, the fashion world must wait and see if the luxury consumer is still out there to purchase £10,000 dresses and £500 shoes.

High street fashion stores are already beginning to feel the financial pinch, as witnessed by Marks & Spencer, who saw shares drop by 32.5% last Wednesday alone . Will the global economic slowdown have any effect on the luxury purchases made by the upper classes?

Some high-end brands have started to see a slow down in sales, as consumers become jittery. Milton Pedraza, CEO of the Luxury Institute noted:

The reality is that even at the highest levels of wealth, there is some pull back.

Even in areas where one would not expect money to be considered, changes are beginning to surface. Fashion bible Vogue, that specializes in luxury brands, has bannered “Value-Conscious Chic, When to Spend, Where to Save’ on the front cover of its US September issue and Araks Yeramayan, owner of Araks, reveals that many fashion companies have had to pay for alcohol, catering, makeup and hair styling for their runway shows, an expense that has previously been picked up by sponsors.

Despite these trends, Fashion Weeks do not seem to have been interrupted. USA Today notes that designers are still ‘spending up big’ on their fashion shows, with Patrick McCarthy, editorial director of W and Women’s Wear Daily speculating that “there will be at least as many shows this seasons as last year and maybe even a few more.”