Living it up in Russia's boutiques

THE SCENT is Givenchy, the clothes are Prada. Anna, 23, breezes through the Nautilus shopping mall in central Moscow. She darts into the Cartier boutique, emerging with a small bag, before heading to her waiting chauffeur-driven Mercedes. Next stop is the £43m new Bvlgari outlet opened last month for a reported six-figure sum by former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell.

How Moscow has changed. Nautilus is across Lubyanka Square from the blood-soaked portals of the old KGB headquarters, the most chilling symbol of Soviet might. But Anna, whose father was a Red Army colonel, does not give it a second glance. Why should she?

'My fiance is taking me to Paris and London on his business trip - so he told me to buy some new clothes and jewellery. He said not to worry how much I spend.'

Women like Anna are why Western designer names are tripping over themselves to woo Russia's affluent. Nowadays, they make more in their Russian stores than in London. Gucci said recently that Moscow was its biggest earner after New York. Dolce & Gabbana in this former Communist citadel came in second after Milan. Brioni's Moscow boutique took first place worldwide while Chanel sold more per square metre here than anywhere else.

'The average Russian buyer of designer clothes is more extreme than his or her European counterpart,' said Yelena Kolpakova, director of the Valentino boutique. 'Russian shoppers rarely think, 'I must save for the future,' or 'What about the children?' or 'I must ask my husband first'. It's all done in a far simpler way. She comes in, she sees a dress she likes and calls her girlfriend. 'I like it.' 'How much is it?' '$11,000.' 'Buy it.'

The glitzy Bvlgari opening provoked some criticism in a city where average earnings are rising, but still less than £25 a week. 'There's poverty, and also very rich people,' said Natalya Korovina, editor of Jewellery World.

Yet the spread of wealth seems to be getting wider, the middle class is gradually emerging as Russia recovers from the ravages of the 1998 rouble crash. Perfume and cosmetic sales have hit an all-time high - some £2.9bn, as Russian women from all backgrounds, not simply the super rich, pamper themselves.

It is this 'bourgeoisie' that Ikea is aiming at with a vast new 250-shop mall, the largest that the Swedish retailer has ever designed. Similarly, big, well-stocked supermarkets have emerged in all major cities, revolutionising the lives of ordinary people who, little more than a decade ago, accepted food queues and rationing as inevitable. Where once travel was banned, Russians are now inundated with advertisements for package tours to Europe's sunspots.