Happy Birthday Kate: The Perennial Queen of Cool turns 49

"Fashions fade, style is eternal." The words by the late Yves Saint Laurent couldn’t be more appropriate to describe the supermodel Kate Moss who turns 49 today. I wholeheartedly believe that Kate is just one of those lucky individuals who is innately stylish rather than someone who follows fashion slavishly.

Kate Moss was first discovered at the tender age of 14 by Sarah Doukas, the owner of the modelling agency Storm. I love the story of how she was first spotted by Sarah and her brother Simon at JFK airport in New York in 1988. According to Business Insider, "Kate’s father was arguing with people at the counter when Doukas spotted them. Luckily they made the flight."

It was in 1990 that Kate firmly captured the attention of the fashion industry when she appeared in the iconic magazine, The Face. The photographs taken by the late British photographer Corinne Day were pared back, natural and very of the moment.

From the moment those photographs were published, it seemed that ‘The Waif’ movement was born. For those unfamiliar with this movement, it was a time when the big-breasted look was replaced by very thin/gaunt looking models.

Looking at this movement from today’s perspective, it was a worrying time in terms of how female bodies were viewed, and Kate Moss herself has spoken about times in her career when she was too thin.

When she wasn’t on the catwalk, Kate Moss was seen out and about at the most glamorous parties and with high profile partners such as Johnny Depp. Kate and Johnny were without question, the ‘90s "it couple." They had a tumultuous relationship and were together for four years before breaking up.

Despite their break-up, Kate Moss still showed her support for Johnny when she agreed to testify during Johnny Depp’s high-profile defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard.

Although Kate’s support for Johnny was not surprising, it was the public nature of the court case that Kate normally would shy away from. This may sound surprising for a model who appears to live her life in the public eye, but Kate is incredibly enigmatic and rarely gives interviews.

Away from modelling, Kate has always been lauded for her fashion credentials. Whether she was wearing cut off denim shorts at Glastonbury or a vintage dress that she had found, Kate managed to make each outfit look like it had taken her months to put together.

Even today, Kate Moss still manages to look effortlessly stylish and very of the moment.’ Here are 5 of my favourite Kate Moss outfits of all time.

The black feather dress

Kate Moss was only 21 when she wore this iconic black feather dress to Frank Sinatra’s 80th birthday party. She was accompanied to the party by her then boyfriend, Johnny Depp. It was said to be the inspiration for one of the dresses for her 2014 Top Shop collection and is so timeless that it wouldn’t look out of place on the red carpet today.

The cut-off denim shorts

Nobody did cut-off denim shorts quite like Kate Moss. She rocked this look at Glastonbury where she seemed to often be photographed in the early 1990s. Even when paired with Wellington Boots, Kate made this look super chic.

The vintage Halston dress

Kate Moss rocked a vintage crimson one-shouldered Halston gown to the Cannes Film Festival in 2016. Although Kate had been to the festival many times, she knew that all eyes would be on her in this dress.

The Marc Jacob sequined gown

Supermodel Kate Moss looked resplendent in a sequined caped Marc Jacobs gown at the 2019 Met Gala. She was photographed on the red carpet with Rita Ora and the designer Marc Jacobs himself.

The figure hugging Burberry dress

Kate Moss is still showing she is a fashion powerhouse today. In 2022, she turned up to The 2022 Met Gala in a black figure-hugging Burberry gown.