According to self-styled British 'menswear pioneer', Gordon Richardson of Topman, visiting Ireland last week for Dublin Fashion Week, it is menswear where the real growth potential is, particularly on the high street, and it is economies of scale that has allowed the industry to thrive.

"Menswear now works as fast as womenswear with a new style every month . . . usually hitting the shops on payday, " he said, adding that changing tastes means Topman's business model has become two-tiered in terms of bulk products and more expensive designer garments. The designer's thesis is backed up by analysts at NPD who have reported sales to men age 35 to 44 increased 12% last year. By comparison, women of the same age spent just under 7% more than they did last year.

Richardson took an unusual route for a designer and joined retail chain Topman when it was haemorraging 40m per year. He said the British retail chain, with stores in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Tralee, Waterford and Wexford, is now averaging revenues of 3.5m per week, assisted by the availability of inhouse designer brands.

In her new book Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Lustre, Dana Thomas argues the fashion industry is now no longer a conduit for art, but has become a corporate behemoth focused on visibility, brand-awareness, advertising and above all profits. She argues that more disposable income and easy access to consumer debt has fuelled this macro trend, but Richardson maintains most Topman transactions are cash rather than credit card, and the trend is really one of the boys catching up with the girls.

"A lot of menswear trends actually come from womenswear, for example Kate Moss was the first to wear skinny jeans. Menswear tends to follows women's fashions two years later." He added the first purchase in Topman's new Grafton Street flagship was a pair of skinny white jeans.

Music has a huge impact on fashion, and Richardson points to the new development whereby male indie bands are now being dressed by stylists who buy high-street, mass- produced clothing rather than the customised and singular styles of the past.

There is friction within the industry between creative designers and the business side, but a continual influx of youth into both divisions means there is often consensus on what might be attempted.

"It's not always like this. When I proposed the pink hoodie a few years ago, my [commercial] boss said 'what the hell is this?' Now everyone is wearing pink."

Richardson believes designer clothes' transition from the catwalk to the shop rails is an irreversible trend, both created and largely fuelled by the media and the cult of celebrity.