All along what has for decades been Japan’s most fashionable and up-market shopping street, the luxury brands are moving out to be replaced by cheap chic.

As the country struggles to raise itself out of the global economic downturn, companies such as LV and Gucci are downsizing or leaving Ginza, their former properties quickly snapped up by the growing trend of “fast fashion” houses.

Now the throngs that still visit the district are shopping with a vengeance at places where their cash goes a little further; Uniqlo, Abercrombie & Fitch, H&M from Sweden and the Spanish chain Zara have all opened stores within the last year.

Japanese designer Tokujin Yoshioka has a new installation set up within Maison Hermes in Japan.

Based off a window display he presented in 2004, this new set up features a restructured design with an appearance by a famed Japanese actress.

The window is designed with an image of woman projected on to a monitor. The scarf softly sways in the air in response to the woman’s blow.

Giorgio Armani has recently opened a huge new store near Louis Vuitton over Roppongi Hills with limited edition commemorative items and a lineup of the latest from this fashion icon.

The interior of the new store was deisgned by Armani himself and includes walls of glass, granite floors and a three VIP lounges for those gentleman that need some personal assistance.

French jeweler Mauboussin gave away 5,000 tiny diamonds as part of a promotion in Tokyo on Monday. The tiny diamonds were 0.1 carat diamonds worth about $50.

Mauboussin’s flagship Japan store opened in Ginza, one of the most expensive pieces of real estate in Japan, in February.

But the store had often been empty because its name, though associated with international celebrities, isn’t widely recognized among Japanese.

On 19 February 2009, Vertu will open Ginza Flagship Store, its first store in Japan. At the store, pre-orders of handsets will be taken for delivery when VERTU Club is available.

Those who simply cannot wait until the launch of the VERTU Club in the second quarter of 2009 will be able to purchase SIM lock-free 3G handsets of Ascent Ti, Ascent Ti Ferrari or Signature models for voice calls.

The Vertu Ginza Flagship Store will be the 19th store in the world to be directly operated by Vertu. At the Ginza Flagship Store, customers will be able to see the whole Vertu collection and experience the difference.

The ww.tc 24 Hour Shopping gives the time in twenty-four time zones, with its own particular interpretation of the planet: it indicates the time not in cities, but in places famous for their fashion and luxury boutiques, such as Faubourg Saint-Honoré, Dubai or Ginza.

The mechanism allows for a subtlety in the world time display: Paris, New York and Tokyo have disappeared from the city ring, yielding pride of place to avenues and squares world-renowned as cult shopping locations. As an additional finesse, it is possible to adapt your ww.tc 24 Hour Shopping to your favourite locations, as there are several versions available. Each of them focuses on two specific venues: Faubourg Saint-Honoré and Orchard Road, or Montenapoleone and Central or Rue du Rhône and Nan Jing Xi Lu. The other time zones are indicated on the city ring by fifteen different sized diamonds, adding up to 0.18 carat.

On the dial, the hours are also punctuated by eight diamonds alternating with soft arabesques. From midnight to midday, the hour ring displays a day/night contrast, while the all-black city ring stands out elegantly against the white mother-of-pearl dial. Black also adorns the alligator strap and the onyx cabochons on the crowns. To round off the work to perfection, a bezel set with fifty-four diamonds (c. 1.95 carats) gleams against the steel case. This sophisticated watch has been designed as a haute couture model, aimed at elegant women who know what they want. With its forty-one millimetre diameter case, this piece asserts its refined style on the most graceful wrists.