Alberni Street has quietly become Vancouver's Rodeo Drive, drawing in shoppers for exclusive goods from fancy footware to pricey pint-sized fashions.

The downtown street is so popular with high-end retailers that some of the world's most luxurious brand names are struggling to find space to rent.

Experts say some stores will close down for individual shoppers, who then spend as much as $250,000 in a matter of hours. Popular with people of Chinese descent, stores search for employees fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese.

Wine, canapes and red carpets were part of the launch of the latest Stefano Ricci collection, located just off the luxury row on West Georgia. Among the couture crafted in Florence are crocodile flip-flops, priced at $4,000 a pair.

Also in casual wear, the collection offers a cashmere jogging suit with crocodile accents for $20,000.

Those looking for something a little shinier can try on a diamond-laced belt, priced at $91,000. And for the child on the go, the spring collection includes an ostrich-skin jacket for $13,800.

Nearby, at Hublot, a shopper can pick up Swiss watches inspired by Italian sports cars. For a mere $172,000, the buyer can bring home a timepiece with a face similar to a Ferrari speedometre.

Hublot’s “Cathedral” watch with a chiming minute repeater complication inspired by Chinese piano virtuoso Lang Lang, is also on offer for a cool $349,000. There are only eight of the watches in the world, and one is located in Vancouver.

Next door, at De Beers Diamond Jewellers, a shopper with a well-padded wallet could take home a $600,000, 10-carat cushion-cut diamond. At Tiffany's, customers can ask for a private room to try on a rare blue diamond ring worth $1.2 million – about the price of a small, single-family house in the city.

With a report from CTV Vancouver's St. John Alexander