Kate Moss: Topshop's New Muse
By Clare Coulson
It's a marriage made in heaven and one that has been on the cards, or at least on the rumour mill for much of the past year. Kate Moss, supermodel, celebrity and, according to many, the most stylish woman in the world, has teamed up with Topshop, the country's coolest high street store.
Philip Green, who owns Topshop's parent group Arcadia, struck the deal personally after meeting Moss and deciding they should work together. "We want to build this into a global brand," he told WWD. "She is a fashion icon in terms of the UK and this is what Topshop is all about in terms of fashion. Our customers identify with her."
Moss, who has an incredible knack for putting together new looks and kick-starting trends, will start working on the range this week and the collection will hit 308 branches across the country next spring. She will act as an inspiration and starting point for the range, giving a team of designers a direction to work towards. Green also suggested that this will be a long-term deal and not simply a one-off.
It's the kind of partnership other brands would kill for. The model's style and selling power are legendary. She can carry anything from a charity bag from Superdrug that costs just £2.99 (as she did a couple of weeks ago) to a Balenciaga Lariat bag and sales will go through the roof.
She is more influential than many designers working today -- whatever Moss is seen wearing will almost always become a huge trend for girls in their teens or twenties to thirties and beyond. She has made skinny jeans de rigeur -- until of course she made an appearance at London Fashion Week on Sunday wearing vintage Chloe flares which will no doubt spark a huge mania for 70s-inspired denim.
And although Moss is at the height of her profession -- despite a troubled year she is currently starring in at least 14 campaigns this autumn including Burberry, Dior, Longchamp, Louis Vuitton, Calvin Klein jeans and Versace -- it's a shrewd move and a logical step. Celebrity ranges in America by women such as Jennifer Lopez are a retail phenomenon.
It also helps that Moss is a long-time fan of the store and has always shopped there -- mixing in cheap pieces with the rest of her ultra-stylish wardrobe.
There is clearly no stopping Topshop. The brand, which is a high profile sponsor of many of this week's most interesting new talents -- is renowned for signing up some of the country's best young designers as well as more established ones. They are far and away the most creative store on the British high street if not the world -- during fashion week buyers from New York routinely make it their first port of call.
When Celia Birtwell's collection was launched at Topshop earlier this year there were tears, tantrums and fights on the shop-floor. Anyone hoping to get their hands onto the very first pieces next spring should probably get into training now.
(photo courtesy of telegraph.co.uk)
Topshop deal keeps Kate Moss at the height of fashion
By Lisa Armstrong, Fashion Editor
SHE could have designed a line of clothing for any company in the world, but Kate Moss confirmed yesterday that from next spring the Kate Moss collection will be produced by Topshop -- and sold in all 308 branches of the high street chain that is part of Sir Philip Green's Arcadia empire.
Today she will report for duty, accompanied by paparazzi, at the Topshop head offices in Central London. "I've always been a big fan of Topshop and regularly shop there," said Moss. "I love what they stand for and am very excited at the thought of working with them. It's going to be great fun."
Moss' perceived fall from grace last year, amid allegations of drug use, was the demise that never was -- her earnings are rumoured to have quadrupled since.
Given the 32 year old model's uncanny ability to sell by the tanker load whatever she wears, it is safe to assume that, no matter what she comes up with for Topshop, the waiting lists will smash records.
The collaboration represents a coup for Topshop, in particular for Sir Philip and Jane Shepherdson, the chain's director. It is Shepherdson who has taken Topshop from a cheap and not especially cheerful purveyor of tat to one of the world's coolest names in fashion, with customers ranging from the average British teenager to Beyonce, Gwyneth Paltrow and Moss herself.
But it was Sir Philip who coaxed Moss into signing. The two met last summer when he bid £60,000 at a charity auction for a kiss with her. As his wife was present, he passed on the prize nobly to Jemima Khan. The ensuing photographs garnered enormous coverage for Sir Philip.
Further meetings between Sir Philip and Moss had spawned rumours of some kind of deal, although most insiders thought that the model would not commit. The deal clincher, according to Sir Philip, "is that she knew she could trust us".
He added: "So many celebrities have been ripped off when they've collaborated on lines, but she knows that we're serious. This is about Kate developing her career beyond modelling. Having her model for this line isn't even on the table. This is long term. We're talking about building a major brand."
Moss' agent, Sarah Doukas, added: "This is such a natural fit for Kate and represents a really exciting next stage for her career."
This is not the average celebrity endorsement. Firstly, Moss is genuinely stylish, rather than a manufactured product. And both she and Shepherdson can be expected to set the highest standards for the Kate Moss for Topshop collection (as it will probably be labelled).
In the bigger picture, this represents another leap forward in the democratisation of design and style. Topshop's phenomenal success underlines how important the role of designers has become in people's lives.
"This is about the art of the possible," Sir Philip says. "We haven't finalised prices yet, but there will be something for everyone -- T-shirts for £10, jeans for around £50 or £60 and the ultimate Kate bag for somewhat more. It's about aspiration, but it won't be elitist. Kate knows that and she's keen to see what we can do together. When it comes down to it, she's really very sensible."
TRENDS SHE HAS STARTED, BRANDS SHE HAS SAVED
Hunter wellies
Oversized sunglasses
Waistcoats
Ballet pumps
Leggings
Superdrug carriers
Mulberry's Roxanne bag
Parkas worn over dresses
Boots worn over jeans
Hermes
The skull scarf
Polka dot dresses
Hot pants
Vivienne Westwood pirate boots
Beaded capes
Military jackets
Skinny jeans
Balenciaga Lariat bag
I'm telling you, start saving up for the coming Kate Moss for Topshop collections. They are going to give us a run for our money! I don't know if this is good news or bad news, but this is definitely freakin' exciting!
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