The clothes do not always make the man, as recent sales figures have revealed at Italian superbrand Prada. With demand sliding for the group's Italian brands, which include Helmut Lang, Jil Sander and Miu Miu, effects of Euro inflation, war and Sars have taken its toll.

The Prada group, which is controlled by a Dutch holding company, has reported revenues of EUR1.36bn (GBP908m) - or EUR1.46bn adjusted for currency movements - from EUR1.57bn the year before. But net profits rose 33 per cent to EUR36m as a result of increased efficiency.

The company, which is controlled by designer Miuccia Prada, above, and her chief executive husband Patrizio Bertelli, hope to float the company this year or next and recently restructured its finances, issuing a GBP700m bond to ease a credit crunch.