Is elitism in fashion?

Fashion has always been associated with elitism. So what, you may ask? We wouldn't have luxury labels without out such superciliousness, and what would we aspire to if Harper's Bazaar, Tatler and Vogue were to disappear from bookshelves and Chanel opened a discount shop in the middle of Oxford Street? It would be fashion misery, of course.

Which is precisely why the luxury houses and the fashion elite are fierce when it comes to protecting their image. According to the Telegraph, years ago, when Tom Ford was creative director at Gucci, it was rumoured he spotted Victoria Beckham wearing some of his designs. Worried about the negative effect that this could have on the brand, he allegedly called his London PR and demanded to know who was responsible for putting Posh into the outfit.

The PR told him that she had bought the clothes at full price at the Gucci shop. Ford reportedly said: "Well, somebody stop her!" Whether or not this story is true, it illustrates the problem that high-fashion houses now face; once a label's clothes or accessories are seen on who a designer deems to be the "wrong" person, its credibility can plummet.

As a group, no one has done more to kill off a handful of trends and labels than high-profile footballers' wives or WAGS (wives and girlfriends of footballers.) So step forward, once more, the former Posh Spice. Victoria Beckham last week debuted her freshly cropped hair (a move to distance herself from the other WAGs - during an evening out with her friend Christopher Bailey, Burberry's creative director.

A few days later, an item appeared in a newspaper diary alleging that Bailey had received a reprimand from Burberry bosses for socialising with the 'wrong' celebrity. It was rumoured that the company, which has spent years trying to shrug off its chav associations, saw the publicity as a major setback, which Burberry denied. No one has done more than Bailey to transform Burberry into a major fashion player with consistently praised fashion collections - he is one of the industry's key trendsetters. All the same, would Burberry's new Manor bag be quite so desirable if it was given a high-profile outing by Mrs Beckham? Would we all be lusting after the label's limited-edition gold trench if she had been there first?

For serious designer labels, there is a tightly defined hierarchy of who is desirable and who is not, and the WAGs almost uniformly fall into the latter category.It helped, of course, that very few of us could afford to blow £1,000 or more on one intoxicating fashion fix. Fashion houses control much of their celebrity exposure by offering their new collections to a favoured few, long before the items are available to civilians. But they can't stop the 'less desirable' few from getting their hands on the first autumn deliveries.

But truly, can a bag worn by a b-list celebrity affect a brand and jeopardize its image? Does it really matter if Victoria Beckham drowns herself in Lanvin, Chanel and Mulberry next season? Would the fashionable elite stop buying their products? We understand the importance of image - fashion is about selling a lifestyle - a new one each season, if you're lucky enough to afford to buy into it. But we also think the truly elite wouldn't care what bag Post Spice sports to a fancy dinner. Probably because they don't notice who's below their rung of stature in the first place. How many times has Victoria Beckham been on the cover of Tatler? 0?

Secondly, we forget that the truly elite would prefer a made-to-measure bag over some ready-to-wear-over-the-counter-piece for the masses. Or perhaps they don't need a bag at all to show their rank. When is the last time we saw Princess Michael armed in Balenciaga?And should the fashion houses be complaining when these girls set tills ringing the minute they are spotted with a new trend? After all, it is the sales of these products allowing fashion houses to portray their elitist images in the first place.