Bringing Heroin Chic Style to the Masses: Kate Moss Unveils New Clothing Line

Kate Moss released her clothing line Tuesday at the retailer Top Shop in London. Teenage girls flocked to the unveiling desperate for a chance to have first grab at the clothing. Daisy Taylor a 15 year old Londoner who rushed to the unveiling stated "She's got a really cool look., and she is also from Southeast London so we can relate to her." The ramifications of teenage girls' ability to identify with the model who was depicted on the cover of The Daily Mirror, a British tabloid, preparing to snort cocaine have yet to become clear.

Kate Moss introduced the waif look, also referred to as heroin chic, to the fashion industry. She has long been criticized for her often dangerously thin physique and reported drug use. Moss lost many modeling contracts after the Daily Mirror printed pictures of her apparently snorting cocaine, and British authorities indicted her on drug charges. The charges were later dropped due to lack of evidence; pictures of drug use are not admissible in court in Great Britain. Moss later attended rehab and apologized for her behavior while never admitting to actual drug use. She was able to resurrect her modeling career however, despite continued criticism of her alleged drug use and low weight.

Moss' new clothing line contained a range of items such as vests, t-shirts, mini-dresses, and skinny jeans. Moss contributed vastly to the success of the first design of so called skinny jeans. The jeans are made of stretch denim; have abnormally "skinny legs" reportedly fitting so tightly they embody a "sprayed on look". Critics so far have only taken aim at Moss' designs lack of originality but it is just a matter of time before the question of "How many girls will starve themselves to fit into Kate Moss' skinny jeans?" is posed.

What will Moss' designs mean for a fashion industry already under fire for presenting dangerously under weight models as the epitome of beauty? Moss' unveiling comes on the heels of Madrid's decision to ban dangerously underweight models from the catwalk. Madrid's decision rocked the modeling world with many designers siding with the decision. There has been growing dissent in the fashion in the industry concerning underweight models; this dissent has belatedly caught up with growing cultural sentiments. The fashion world has offered up resistance to the banishment of the ideal of the heroin chic with France claiming that they will not ban extremely underweight models from the catwalk. The popularity of Moss' new clothing line is making it clear that some in our culture are also having a hard time letting go of the waif model / heroin chic ideal.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Moss
http://www.reuters.com/article/consumerproducts-SP-A/idUSL011828920070501?pageNumber=1
http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSL3018421320070330