I have seen little evidence of Japan's young consumers, particularly young ladies [1], turning away from luxury brand names. The thing that has changed is where they buy them: they don't go to department stores, they go to malls, outlets, and the like.<p>But a Burberry scarf ($200 back when I first checked, probably more now) is still practically a mandatory part of the high school uniform in some places. That's the sole brand good I can identify at a glance, but I'm told that Gucci bags, etc, are still quite hot.<p>My ex-girlfriend went through a truly astounding amount of money on bags. She is not exactly unique among the young ladies in my social circle.<p>[1] I could point to a guy or two I knew who routinely wore single outfits that cost $300+ but, in my personal experience, its a bit more common for the ladies. One factor: twenty-something guys are less likely to be "parasite singles" (this is the actual Japanese word used: it means "living with your parents while you have a job before you're married"), and the ~$2,200 starting engineer's salary in this neighborhood doesn't buy a whole lot of bling UNLESS you have no rent or food bill, in which case its like you've suddenly got ~$1,600 of totally disposable income every single month.