WeChat does almost everything; it’s a messaging service, social platform, marketplace, and a place to do life admin. And now, its users can snatch the latest Lady Dior bag straight through the app after French fashion house Dior became the first designer brand to sell its handbags through the platform.

Influencers use social media platforms to endorse their products of choice. But rather than using their celebrity status to distance themselves from their fan bases, China’s style icons are using live chat to communicate recommendations, and it's keeping them close to their followers.

Renowned for an insatiable appetite for luxury, within ten years China will account for 50% of global luxury purchases. But as discretion becomes the mark of distinction, who are these luxury consumers, how are their tastes evolving and what compels them to part with their cash?

A generation of Chinese women have grown up without sisters to confide in, share their experiences with, or tell them what’s cool. They might be using social media as a stand-in; social commerce and photo-sharing site Itugo now has 15 million users. But what makes it so popular?