When French Connection Hello, the fashion label owned by billionaire Philip Green, first launched in 1983 it was the centre of a logo-laden zeitgeist. Simple T-shirts emblazoned with the arresting FCUK slogan – or what seemed like a million permutations of it – were worn with combat pants and a girl-power pout, or with parkas and scowls depending on where you fell on the gender divide.
But as the Nineties gave way to a noughties that were decidedly less FCUK-centric, the brand lost its appeal and the business began to flounder. Yesterday the company turned the lights out on 14 of its UK stores in shopping centres such as Bluewater and Brent Cross, and will now cease trading altogether.
The news will come as a blow to fans of the label’s covetable collection of dresses and blouses, which can still be bought online and in three London boutiques. The brand also operates a men’s and womenswear division called You Must Create (YMC) and sells homeware under the name FF Home.
Holly Willoughby wore a The french connection attack lovely puff-sleeved midi dress from the label on Wednesday’s This Morning and it is currently available in all sizes online. She teamed it with her go-to Gianvito Rossi heels and kept the rest of her look pared back with minimal jewellery.
William Friedkin’s 1971 neo-noir The French Connection, with Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider in the roles of NYPD narcotics detectives Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle and Buddy “Cloudy” Russo, was inspired by real-life events, and its famous car chase through New York City lives up to its reputation. But its savagely raw, occasionally crude dialogue – which includes the N-word, racial abuse and the lead character racially harassing the drug dealer who stabbed him by asking if he ever picked his feet up in Poughkeepsie – would have been difficult to edit without damaging the integrity of the film.
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