In a country where in the past people used to walk o­n rubber shoes made from old tyres, the presence of Gucci costing 365 USD can be a shock. However, it is nothing unfamiliar when luxury commodity market is blooming in Vietnam.

In a country where in the past people used to walk o­n rubber shoes made from old tyres, the presence of Gucci costing 365 USD can be a shock. However, it is nothing unfamiliar when luxury commodity market is blooming in Vietnam.

Ever since the country entered the market economy, newly emerged rich people in Vietnam have shed their eyes o­n Gucci shoes, Loui Vuitton bags, Cartier watches� This shows that Vietnam has undergone big changes after years of war.

Ms. Do Huong Ly, a young worldly saleslady at a Roberto Cavalli boutique in Hanoi, said: �I�ve just sold a leather jacket at the price of 4,000 USD. Our customers want everybody to know that they belong to the upper class.�

Not long ago, showing off wealth seemed to be hardly acceptable. However, since the 80s of the previous century, the Government has conducted free market economy renovation, magneting foreign investors, and they�ve imported Western innovative viewpoints and style.

�Today young generation want to fully enjoy life and self-satisfy with luxurious things�, said Nguyen Thi Cam Van. She has bought five Loui Vuitton bags at the price of 1,000 USD/bag.

�If I can buy beautiful items, it gives me pride. It shows people your taste and your style�, Van confided. Presently she is working for Siemens and working as a consultant for a Vietnamese imported company.

One of her friends even possesses 50 Loui Vuitton bags. �I think five is enough�, said Van.

Many young people with the hobby of buying named brands like Van are presently working for multinational corporations, but they still share the same house with their parents. Others work for powerful state companies, and there are those who work for private companies, small but strongly developing.

They allow themselves to be self-satisfied with named brands by Dolce&Gabbana, Burberry, Escada, Rolex, Clarins, Shisheido and similar things.

For the past two decades, since Vietnam began to conduct economics renovation, poverty rate has decreased by half and income per person has doubled during the past five years..

However, there are many laborers in this country of 84 million people who can just earn from o­ne to two dollars for a hard-working day o­n the fields.

Those who are doing low-cost jobs can o­nly dream about luxurious things.

Mr Dao Quang Hung, a taxi driver in Hanoi said: �The rich get richer. The amount of money they spend to possess a Louis Vuitton bag is enough to buy some cows for a farmer family and relieve them of poverty".

At a newly opened Gucci store in HCMC, slippers can o­nly be classified as generic products. The saleslady � who looks like a model just walking out of a catwalk stage in Milan � is introducing a pair of yellow high-heeled shoes costing 765 USD.

At the hall of a Milan fashion store, last year a dress by Dolce&Gabbana at the price of 54,000 USD was displayed. According to marketing director Dang Tu Anh, it was o­ne of the o­nly three dresses in the world.

Tu Anh informed that the other two had been donned o­n the bodies of movie stars like Nicole Kidman or ex-member of Spice Girls band.

Tu Anh added that the generous customers of Milano thought it was nothing excessive to spend 5,000 USD o­n a bag or a pair of shoes.

Mr Huu Ngoc, a 90-year-old scholar expressed: �Vietnamese today young generation are running after material enjoyment. Individualism is destroying cultural characteristics. We�re weathier but we�re also losing our soul.�

The previous generation never wasted anything and always thought about saving for the future. But some opinion surveys show that many Vietnamese born after 1975 are very optimistic about the future and decide to make the most of their lives from now o­n.

Van is o­ne example. She pleases herself by lying o­n the sofa for massage and doing the nails. However, she is afraid that her father � a college professor � will know about her five Louis Vuitton bags.

Van said: �I can�t tell my father about my possessions. Neither can I reveal their prices. He may think that I�m very irresponsible.�

Van�s desires are modest compared with other rich people in Vietnam, those who travel in the most expensive cars, with the brands BMW or Mercedes-Benz. And they pay in cash.

Nguyen Hoang Trieu, a car dealer in HCMC said: �In America, they buy o­n installment. Here, everything is paid o­ne time by cash. Sometimes, a person came here with a briefcase of 400,000 USD in cash.�
(According to AP)