A never-before-seen image of Kate Moss taken when she was on the cusp of global stardom in the early Nineties has been unearthed by a London gallery.
The black and white photograph, taken by singer-turned-photographer Kate Garner in 1990, shows the model aged around 16 sat at a dressing table on the telephone.
The theme of the shoot was ‘The morning after the night before’ – and this image, dubbed ‘Kate in Curlers’, features Moss getting ready for a glamorous night out with her hair in rollers.
It was intended to make a statement, demonstrating that Moss was leaving her ‘grunge’ phase behind and entering a new glamorous, more sophisticated phase.
A never-before-seen image of Kate Moss taken when she was on the cusp of global stardom in the early Nineties has been unearthed by a London gallery. The black and white photograph, taken by singer-turned-photographer Kate Garner in 1990, shows the model sat at a dressing table on the telephone
The image was commissioned by Esquire magazine just before Moss, now 46, became a star, but was never published.
It was reportedly rejected because she didn’t have the ‘glamazon’ look that was still in favour.
The publishers allegedly didn’t feel Moss could compete with the likes of Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington, known for their more for curvaceous, tall phyisques.
Upon discovering the image in her back catalogue, Garner took it to the contemporary Zebra One Gallery in Hampstead, north London.
Upon discovering the image in her back catalogue, Kate Garner took it to the contemporary Zebra One Gallery in Hampstead, north London
Moss went on to become Vogue’s most prolific cover girl and one of the world’s most recognisable models.
Croydon-born Moss was talent-spotted at the age of 14 by Storm model agency boss Sarah Doukas while standing in a check-in queue at JFK Airport in New York in 1988.
Arriving at the end of the ‘supermodel era, Moss rose to fame in the mid-1990s as part of the ‘heroin chic’ fashion trend, with her collaborations with Calvin Klein cementing her fashion icon status.
The mother-of-one spent the decade moving from the catwalk to the bar, with The Groucho Club, The Ivy and her friends’ luxurious pads in NW1 all second homes.
Moss was a member of The Primrose Hill Set – a name given to the all-star group of residents of the leafy London neighbourhood, who were known in their heyday for their raucous behaviour with stories of their antics becoming the stuff of legend.
Moss, pictured at the British Vogue Fashion and Film BAFTA party at Annabel’s, London in February 2019, rose to fame in the mid-1990s as part of the ‘heroin chic’ fashion trend
Her party-heavy lifestyle caught up with her in 2005, when she was dropped from H&M’s autumn campaign featuring garments designed by Stella McCartney over drug allegations.
After a short break Moss returned to modelling and was second on Forbes’ top-earning models list in 2012.
The following year she received a gong at the British Fashion Awards to acknowledge her contribution to fashion over 25 years.
But after attending a week-long detox in Turkey back in June 2015, the runway sensation wound up being escorted off an easyJet flight home after her airport drinking session took a heavy turn.
Moss spent lockdown in her Cotswolds home with daughter Lila-Grace, 17, and longtime boyfriend Nikolai von Bismarck.
This week she moved the family fun to Ibiza, with the trio seen enjoying a day on a luxury yacht on Monday, soaking up the sunshine in the sizzling temperatures.
Kate stripped down to a skimpy black bikini for her day on board, showing off the results of her clean-living rituals after ditching her party-going lifestyle two years ago.
Two years ago, she told NBC’s Megyn Kelly: ‘I take care of myself now, I’m a good girl. I go to bed, I drink lots of water, not too much coffee, and I’m trying to cut down on cigarettes.’