Mr. and Mrs. Average usurp fashionistas, fuel luxury spending

Fashion enthusiasts are cutting back.

The shoppers that make up the top 5 percent of annual purchases reduced spending on luxury apparel and accessories by 22 percent in Japan, 14 percent in the U.K. and Australia, 10 percent in France and 1 percent in Hong Kong in the first half, American Express Business Insights said in a report.

Mainstream consumers stepped into the breach, shelling out more on luxury goods and leading to a doubling of spending in the U.S., according to the report published today.

“Average consumers have started to replace existing clothes and accessories again, while enthusiasts are delaying the purchase of new items,” American Express Business Insights said in a statement. “Fashionistas step aside for Mr. and Mrs. Average.”

In the U.K., mainstream shoppers lifted spending on luxury fashion by 27 percent and on jewelry by 65 percent in the first half. Consumers aged 18 to 29, or Generation Y, are showing great appetite for luxury fashion, even though they are still a minority group, the study shows.

The spending drop from the “enthusiast” group was led by men, who “are shying away from luxury fashion spending in 2011,” the report said. They spent 11 percent less in the U.S.

The study is based on actual, aggregated spending data from the first half, compared with the same period last year, American Express Business Insights said.