Sir Philip Green

Sir Philip Green is one of the most powerful forces in fashion as his High Street stores are frequented by most of us on a regular basis. This month, CNN are profiling the retail mogul as he expands his business across the Atlantic. Watch a short preview of the Revealed documentary which is due to air tomorrow on the news channel at 5.30pm. The documentary includes input from Anna Wintour, Simon Cowell and Vera Wang. There is also some footage from behind the scenes at Topshop's London Fashion Week show. Are you interested in this programme?

Forbes have today revealed their 2011 Rich List and it features some of fashion's biggest names. Bernard Arnault, the owner of LVMH came fourth in the list (behind Bill Gates amongst others) being valued at £25.3 billion! Arnault recently added Bulgari to his portfolio which already includes Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Givenchy. He was joined in the top 20 by High Street moguls Amancio Ortega, founder of Zara and H&M chairman Stefan Persson.

Francois Pinault who owns LVMH rival PPR came at 67, with a £7.11 billion fortune whilst Sir Philip Green appeared at at 132 with a, not to be sniffed at, £4.45 billion! Italian designer Giorgio Armani wasn't far behind him with £4.1 billion at number 136. I am always interested to read rich lists, are you surprised by the order of these fashion big wigs?

If you've been concerned about how the recent VAT increase might affect your shopping habits, then I have some good news for you. Sir Phillip Green has been explaining that they will not pass on the rise in Topshop. He commented,

"2011 is not going to be easy. It could be challenging from a cost point of view, with the VAT rise, overseas labour costs, local taxes and a more nervous consumer. We just have to make sure we run very slick businesses. We have got to sell merchandise at great value, and continue to give our consumers fresh products."

Green intends to counteract the increase by opening more overseas stores. Phew! What more reason do you need to hit the High Street?

There have been protests across the UK today as anger rises about Sir Philip Green's possible tax avoidance. Campaigners have targeted large Topshop stores where they blew whistles and chanted, and even in some cases glued themselves to the shop window in protest. The group known as UK Uncut also picketed Boots, HSBC, Barclays and Vodafone.

Activist Benjamin Neem explained their anger, "Philip Green is a multi-billionaire tax avoider, and yet is regarded by David Cameron as an appropriate man to advise the government on austerity. His missing millions need to be reclaimed and invested into public services, not into his wife's bank account." Green's wife is a resident of Monaco meaning she could lawfully gain a tax-free £1.2bn dividend in 2005.

Green has defended his actions explaining, "My wife's not a tax exile – my family do not live in the United Kingdom, it's somewhat different. We do pay all our tax in Britain. I think we have paid over the last five years some £300-400m in taxes on profits that have been made on our company." Protests today took place in London, Birmingham, Brighton and Glasgow amongst others and there have been many arrests. Green was given a place in the government earlier this year following a series of questions relating to his tax.

Kate Moss was full of smiles as she posed at the Help for Heroes Auction at Harry's Bar in London last night. She cuddled up with hosts David Bailey and Sir Philip Green, as well as Tracey Emin and Philip's daughter Chloe, who is rumoured to be Kate's latest design partner. Her skills in that department have been praised by Longchamp's creative director following the launch of their latest bag collection last month. Kate's back on home turf after her stay in Paris for Fashion Week, where she attended shows, filmed ads and hung out with Jamie Hince.

To see more pictures of Kate with David, the Greens and Tracey, just read more

Since Kate Moss revealed her collaboration with Topshop is coming to an end this year, all eyes have been on Ms Moss to see what she might do next and today details have been revealed. You may have noticed that Chloe Green has become a prominent feature on the London fashion scene attending several events with her Dad (Sir Philip Green) in recent months. Well, it seems that Chloe is soon to be the envy of her peers as she revealed she is working on a clothing line with the supermodel.

She told the Telegraph,

"I saw Kate a few days ago and we talked about doing something together in the spring, collaborating on a collection. She's really into vintage and I love clothes that are a bit modern, so I think it will be an interesting mix."

Would you be interested to see these two work together?