With a growing base of luxury fashion consumers and a likewise burgeoning plethora of designers, China is on the fast track to joining triple-A locations in the industry, if not surpassing them entirely. 

From Selfridges in London to Fifth Avenue in New York', the sight of Chinese shoppers flocking to luxury clothing stores is now a familiar one for many in the West.

With its seemingly insatiable appetite for European and American luxury brands, China accounts for more than a quarter of the global luxury market -- and that number is growing, according to market analysts like McKinsey & Co.

But the rising fashion credentials of the country's consumers is not the only reason people are talking about China on the sidelines of this season's runway shows in London and Paris. Read More