Kate Moss’ Debut Collection for Zara Has ’70s Glitter-ball Glamour
LONDON — The Kate Moss x Zara capsule makes its worldwide debut on Saturday, and it’s shaping up to be the next high-street celebrity blockbuster.
The model’s big inspiration was the ’70s and the sensual, stylish women of the era, including Charlotte Rampling and Lauren Hutton. She also drew on Studio 54 — and Led Zeppelin — for the collection styled by her longtime friend Katy England.
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It features bias-cut dresses in cream and black, a 1930s-era tea dress, and a whole lot of leopard prints — for little bucket bags, lingerie and a peacoat with a vintage feel.
A black sequin bra top with crystal embellishment and python-print shorts add a hard-rock edge, while the tailored jackets were inspired by the ones in Moss’ own wardrobe.
Shoes and accessories include a high-heeled, T-bar sandals, black leather boots, printed scarves and rings with chunky, colored stones.
Moss said she wanted to create “pieces that feel effortlessly chic, but with an edge.” She described the collection as a blend of “classic cuts, with just the right amount of glam, to take you through the party season.”
The campaign was shot by two of Moss’ favorite photographers, Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott.
The collection marks Moss’ design comeback after a series of successful collaborations with Topshop between 2007 and 2014. It is also the latest in a string of high-profile tie-ups for Zara, a strategy driven by Marta Ortega Pérez, chair of Zara’s parent company Inditex.
In October, Zara unveiled what would become a sell-out collection with Stefano Pilati. That collection’s campaign was shot by Steven Meisel, with Pilati modeling the menswear and Gisele Bündchen the womenswear.
As reported, Zara has also inked a multiyear apparel joint venture with designer Samuel Ross for his new fashion concept SR_A. Going forward, the joint venture will feature fashion installations and artists’ presentations online and in physical locations worldwide.
High street-celebrity collaborations are becoming ever more popular — and lucrative — adding star power to seasonal collections.
Zara, H&M and Primark regularly work with celebrities on special collections, while Marks & Spencer has struck gold via partnerships with Sienna Miller and Bella Freud.
Freud was one of the guests at the dinner to launch Moss’ collection for Zara. It took place at Oswald’s, the private club owned by Robin Birley in London’s Mayfair.
It was a covert affair, with staff positioned by the front door, sticking black tape over guests’ smartphone cameras to prevent picture taking and filming.
Ortega arrived early to work the room, and the evening felt like a night in 1990s London, with guests including Courtney Love, Sadie Frost, Jasper Conran, Rose Ferguson, Jake Chapman, Lucie de la Falaise, Tim Walker, David Sims, Luella Bartley, Karl Templer and Fabien Baron.
Moss’ family and friends were out in force, including Lila Moss, Phoebe Philo, Max Wigram, Edward Enninful and Bobby Gillespie.
Guests flowed between the smoking terrace upstairs — a favorite hangout of Moss and her friends — and the dining room downstairs where Italian staff dished out a surf-and-turf feast featuring yellowtail carpaccio, lobster cake with yuzu mayonnaise, roasted sea bass and beef fillet.
There were lots of lentils and green vegetables, too — not very rock ‘n’ roll, but still trendy in a wellness-obsessed world.
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