In April this year, Italian fashion house Roberto Cavalli agreed to sell a 90 percent stake to the Italian private equity firm Clessidra. The deal, which is estimated to have cost less than $1 billion, follows some other large private equity/fashion deals – most notably, Blackstone taking a 20 percent share of Versace, and Carlyle investing in Ski jacket manufacturer Moncler.

So has the private equity industry, which for a long time shut out fashion, finally embraced the rag trade? 

Celebrities are walking and talking global brands, with the power to influence millions of peoples' actions, choices, and opinions. And this, combined with a flair for business, can put savvy celebrities in an extremely strong position when it comes to pursuing their own business ventures. 

We have seen this with men – P-Diddy, Dr Dre, Floyd Mayweather, etc.

But, more and more, famous women are also proving their mettle in the business world. So who are these women? And what do they represent?