Kate Moss is still flourishing as a model at 40
TURNING forty is a milestone in anyone life but for Kate Moss it’s even more special because of the fact that her career has never been stronger.
Most professional models retire into their late twenties or if theyre very lucky they might make it into their early thirties. Kate however as always is and was an exception to the rules.
She was discovered at the age of 14 by model scout Sarah Doukas at JFK Airport and was signed to Storm Model Agency however it wasn’t until she was 16 that her career really began, being photographed for British magazine ‘The Face’.
In the early 1990s her image was known as ‘the anti supermodel’ which meant she was the polar opposite of what had been defined as a ‘supermodel’, ie tall, curvatious, and elegant. Kate formed the new age of ‘waif like’ model which hadn’t been seen since the 1960’s. Along with the cultural revolution that was being seen in business, music and fashion in the mid 1990’s (much like the cultural revolution of the 60’s) Ms Moss and her size zero colleagues rules the catwalks and were making some serious money by doing so.
As well as headlining seasonal campaigns for French, Italian, British and American brands she has also featured on the cover of International copies as well as British Vogue and every other major fashion magazine in the UK and abroad.
With her lifestyle comes the reputation of being a party animal and being linked to several high profile men including Johnny Depp. Her party girl image and care free take on life has landed her in trouble in more than one occasion. Most notably the cocaine scandle in 2005, which saw her lose nearly every contract she had secured that year.
In a recent interview on Radio Four’s Desert Island Discs, Storm Model Management director Sarah Doukas revealed that far from damaging her career ‘cocaine gate’ actually proved to be a stepping stone in Moss’s career as she saw her yearly profits soar from a hefty £2 million to £4 million a year.
Despite any bad press she may have received over the years I have always admired Kate, not necessarily for her lifestyle but merely because she went against all the rules of what your stereotypical supermodel should be. At just 5 ft 6 she is smaller than your average catwalk model however this has not stopped her from becoming one of the world’s most sought after faces. In a rare interview in 1999 she made a comment about how her agent had initially warned her that being that little bit shorter would disadvantage her and hold her back from any of the big jobs. Had she been two inches taller she could certainly make it big in the industry. From that moment Kate sought to prove them all wrong and she certainly did!
