Still the queen of cool

6:03am Wednesday 2nd May 2007

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When shoppers queued for hours to buy Kate Moss's clothes in Topshop, the model's status as an icon was reaffirmed, despite well publicised transgressions. Women's Editor Sarah Foster looks at how she has recovered and why she's still the number one in terms of fashion.

FOR one so reticent as Moss, it marked a painful break from silence. The lurid pictures in the tabloids had done her image untold harm and so the model, amid great pressure, came out with this repentant statement: "I take full responsibility for my actions," she said of being caught on camera, apparently careless of the fact that she was seemingly snorting cocaine. "I also accept that there are various personal issues that I need to address and have started taking the difficult, yet necessary, steps to resolve them. I want to apologise to all of the people I have let down because of my behaviour, which has reflected badly on my family, friends, co-workers, business associates and others."

Why Moss was moved to make the statement is anyone's guess: did she feel genuinely sorry or were there darker things at play? When the scandal broke, in 2005, she did face widespread castigation, being dropped by clothing chain H&M and snubbed by major fashion houses.

Yet, while she did make an apology, Moss didn't ever quite lose face. She'd been a bad girl - fair enough - but underneath the shame and scandal, there was a hint of something else. What no one openly acknowledged, but what was evident all the same, was that the name of Cocaine Kate made Moss seem somehow rather cool.

Perhaps in light of this position, it's therefore not a great surprise that she's recovered from the ordeal - or that the high street chain store Topshop was keen to sign her as its face. If it perceived this as a gamble, it must be glad it took the risk.

Though Moss did not design the clothes - it's just reflective of her tastes - her new collection, unveiled on Monday, has hit the high street like a storm. Comprising 50 fashion items, including dresses and skinny jeans, its mass appeal to British women was shown by queues at Topshop stores. What seemed to drive the high demand was the desire to be like Moss - as Britain's leading catwalk model, she is its architect of style. This seems more startling as she's been queen of fashion for 20 years.

Now 33, she was a gawky, shy 14-year-old when she was spotted by a scout at JFK airport in New York. Her rise to fame was meteoric: she graced the cover of The Face, then modelled jeans for Calvin Klein. It seemed the look that she embodied - all straggly hair and fleshless bones - was just what fashion then required. For Allison McKay, who deals with models as part of NE Representation, hers was the image of the 90s.

"It was a change from the '70s and '80s, which were quite plasticy and very 'done'," she says. "Then we went into grunge in the '90s with relaxed hair and natural skin, and Kate was just perfect for that because she could do natural and not many models could. I think she started out as this grungy, natural young girl and over the years, we've seen a different side to her coming through."

As seemed appropriate to her lifestyle, Moss had a string of famous boyfriends (an early love was Johnny Depp). She seemed to settle with Jefferson Hack, who fathered her daughter, Lila Grace, but then hooked up with bad boy Pete Doherty, the drugged-up frontman of the Babyshambles. It's been while dating hell raiser Pete that Kate has seemed to act more recklessly, including featuring in 'those' photos. So what has kept her in our good books?

"Other people who have taken drugs before, especially sports people, we throw stones at, but because she's a model she can do that and get away with it," says Allison. "I think one other thing about Kate is that she is her own person. She's got that realness about her."

Of course, alongside seeming human, Moss can be effortlessly glamorous. This no doubt adds to her celebrity, her sense of being someone special. "Whatever she does she looks fantastic," says Allison. "She defies everything you read about: don't smoke - Kate does and looks fab; don't go out partying all night - she's still able to do so and look fab. I've been in studios on a number of occasions with Kate and she never fails. She always looks stunning."

What we can never be quite sure of - because she speaks so very little - is just what Moss is like in person. When she appeared in London's Topshop to launch her label there on Monday, she was accused of being snooty because she stayed a scant few minutes. Yet those she's worked for speak more warmly - among those rallying to defend her amid the whole cocaine debacle was fashion house Burberry, which while condemning her misconduct, said: "Kate has always been a fantastic model and highly professional for Burberry."

Allison says: "I did her hair once for a shoot and she's very natural and not spoilt. She's a very sweet girl. She's never been a big talker and in the brief moments I've met her she's come across as a quiet person. I think it's just because she's been attacked by the Press and the media so much that she's probably very aware that if she says something she might be wrong, so it's best just to be quiet."

Some might argue that her style speaks for itself. In fact by keeping largely silent, she may be adding to her image, creating mystery and romance. Few would dispute her stellar status and while she's still the catwalk favourite who can inspire a generation, her fame is likely to endure. "There're hundreds and hundreds of stunning girls out there but Kate has that celebrity status and she's stood the test of time," says Allison. "I can see her modelling well into her 50s because she's got that eternal youth about her. I don't think she'll grow old - she'll be rock and roll at 50 and 60."