French Connection said on Monday that they are selling its Nicole Farhi designer brand, as well as closing most of its operations in the United States – 17 out of 23 stores. The group’s chief operating officer Neil Williams said that they couldn’t see the US stores returning to profitability for a considerable amount of time.

The Nicole Farhi brand has lost a lot of money over the years and is being sold to OpenGate Capital, a private equity firm, for as much as £5 million. This ends the business relationship between Stephen Marks, the founder and executive chairman of French Connection, and Nicole Farhi, the mother of his daughter. She will remain the creative director at the brand under the new owners, while the 23 stores and concessions in the United Kingdom will either be closed or transferred.

Marks said that the last year has been very difficult, but he is confident that the changes they have made will create a solid base for business development and allow the company to return to profitability soon. French Connection recorded robust sales in the UK and Europe. The restructuring of its overseas operations, which comes after the closure of its businesses in Scandinavia and Japan, will see the profitability.

The retail and wholesale group suffered an £8.7 million pretax loss for the year ended January 31. This is compared to the £11.8 million loss for the year prior. French Connection has been struggling since 2004, when it former slogan, FCUK (French Connection United Kingdom) reached its popularity peak. Last year’s revenues flatlined at £214 million.

Two of the most famous brands in fashion around the world are set to become part of the same company. This comes as Phillips-Van Heusen, the parent company of Calvin Klein and Izod, said on Monday that they will buy Tommy Hilfiger from parent company Apax Partner, a British private equity firm, in a €2.2 billion ($3 million) acquisition. The announcement caused Phillips-Van Heusen shares to jump in New York.

As part of the deal, Apax Partners will get €1.92 billion in cash and €276 million in Phillips-Van Heusen stocks. This will accelerate revenue growth by up to 8%, according to Emanuel Chirico, Phillips-Van Heusen chairman and chief executive officer. This will be helped by the European operations of Tommy Hilfiger, as about two-thirds of the company’s revenue comes from locations outside the US. Annual sales of the combined company will be about $4.6 billion.

Chirico also said that the acquisition is a unique chance to bring together two premier companies that both have iconic brands. He added that Tommy Hilfiger fits all of their criteria for an acquisition, as it’s highly profitable, has superior management, is focused on international growth, is immediately accretive to earnings and is an overall strong brand. Phillips-Van Heusen also already has the right to produce some Tommy Hilfiger clothes.

This is only the latest deal to emerge in the market, as corporate buyers are feeling more confident. However, it is the biggest proposed acquisition by a US clothing manufacturer or retailer in the last decade, according to Bloomberg data, as well as the 8^th biggest from any US company this year.

Nicola Roberts is becoming increasingly known for her unusual fashion choices, and this weekend was no different. The 24-year-old Girls Aloud singer stepped out for an evening wearing a very bright-colored Taffeta check dress by Vivienne Westwood, which is one of her favorite designers. She attended the Ivy Club in West End in London with her mom and sister.

The combination of the blue, purple, pink, yellow and orange dress with her red hair, which is styled to frame her face, really made her stand out in the crowd. To accessorize, Roberts carried a small black handbag and wore a pair of black heels. Although she has a rather interesting taste in fashion, this outfit did her justice, personally (not an expert opinion). It just plainly looked good on her.

Roberts has also become more involved in the fashion world lately and has attended shows regularly in Paris and London. She’s also put some of this research to use, wearing trendy items frequently. However, she says that she doesn’t plan to become a designer yet. She’s quite happy with the way things are going with her Dainty Doll makeup collection, which is keeping her busy right now.

Meanwhile, Roberts has been on the bad end of press in recent weeks due to criticism over her size. Some critics claimed that she is too thin, but she defended her size 6 waist, saying that she isn’t ashamed of it and that it comes natural to her. She added that she doesn’t starve herself or exercise every day…she just has a small frame.

Madonna has been known as the Queen of Pop, for creating her own look, starring in fashion campaigns for designers like Dolce & Gabanna and Louis Vuitton, as well as serving as a muse for Paul Gaultier. Now the 51-year-old is finally getting directly involved in the fashion industry, becoming a designer herself to creating a clothing range for teens.

The 51-year-old singer/model/actress won’t be alone in the venture, however, as she has enlisted the help of her 12-year-old daughter, Lourdes. The two will be collaborating together with Iconix Brand Group to create the MG Icon label. The first Material Girl collection will be available online and at 200 Macy stores. It will include back-to-school clothes and footwear, as well as accessories – jewellery and handbags. Retail for the collection will range between $12 and $40.

Iconix’s portfolio of brands also includes Badgley Mischka and Ed Hardy. Company chairman and chief executive officer Neil Cole says that they are thrilled to announced the first of many new brands to be developed under their partnership with Madonna. They believe that Material Girl will be a Macy exclusive, he continued, and they look forward to working with the singer, her daughter and the Iconix team.

Although Madonna will bring in most of the attention, people won’t be able to overlook Lourdes, who has been attracting attention lately due to her original fashion choices and eye-catching outfits. The duo are photographed together wearing similar outfits often. Madonna says that it’s very exciting to be collaborating with Iconix to bring her fashion ideas to consumers.

Lady Gaga is known for her outlandish fashion sense, but we never thought that her style would actually put her danger. This came after the US pop star told Jonathan Ross last week that she would rather die than for her fans to see her in regular clothes without a pair of high heels on. She even said that she would never give up her hats or wigs for anything. This pledge took a turn for the worst on her most recent flight.

Gaga was on a long-haul flight from London to the US this week when the cabin crew started to worry when her legs started to swell due to another one of her crazy outfits. The singer had been wearing a striped black and yellow tape dress with blue Armadillo heels made by Alexander McQueen. The crew quickly insisted that she change, as they thought that the swelling could be the early stages of deep vein thrombosis. She would have risked facing long-term damage if she didn’t change.

A source with the airline she was flying with said that Gaga was a high-risk deep vein thrombosis case and was advised to change her outfit. However, the dress was so oppressive that she needed help getting it off by the cabin crew, they continued. Gaga was a little annoyed about taking off her heels, the source added, because she was wearing them in memory of McQueen, whose passing has left the singer in mourning.

Hopefully Gaga won’t have another scare like this. Since she can’t wear everyday clothes on even a flight, maybe next time she should wear something with just a little more breathing room than a taped on dress.