The model whose off-duty clothes became everyone’s uniform for two decades.
By Shreya S · Last reviewed 15 November 2026
How did Kate Moss start?
She was scouted at New York’s JFK airport in 1988 by Sarah Doukas, founder of the London agency Storm. Corinne Day’s raw photographs of her for The Face in 1990 introduced a new kind of model, small, natural and ordinary-looking, in contrast to the glamorous supermodels. Calvin Klein campaigns in the early 1990s made her world famous.
What did she wear in the 1990s?
The slip dress, above all. A sheer silver slip she wore to a London party in 1993 became one of the most famous images of the decade. Her look matched the minimalism and grunge of 1990s fashion: tiny dresses, tank tops, little makeup. The thinness of that era’s models was strongly criticised at the time, and the debate about it has never really ended.
What about boho and Glastonbury?
In the 2000s she defined boho rock: skinny jeans, ballet flats, vintage fur, waistcoats, belts slung low, big sunglasses. At Glastonbury in 2005 she wore tiny shorts, a waistcoat and Hunter wellies, and festival style has copied it every summer since.
Why was her Topshop collection a big deal?
Launched in 2007, it was one of the first high-street collections designed around a model’s personal wardrobe rather than a designer’s. Shoppers queued around Oxford Street, and it showed how much people wanted to dress like her. It is a landmark in collaborations.
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