Print exclusive: Why we’re all obsessed with Kate Moss

Kate and I first met in the early 1990s when I was working on the Mail on Sunday’s You Magazine. One day, this girl came in for a casting. I remember thinking, “Wow, she’s gorgeous, so youthful,” but she was a little waif, which didn’t quite fit in with the You consumer. It was only later when I had moved to Dazed & Confused and could work with my own aesthetic that she properly came into my life.

It would be easy to think that she’s so beautiful, and that’s it, or take her skills as a model for granted. But Kate has been honing her craft for more than 30 years. Watch her in front of a camera and she gives everything to that photographer. To see her on a set, the way she moves, how she brings life to the clothes – it’s what has carried her through the industry. She’ll say things like, “I need to shorten these trousers, put the collar up.” She plays a big part in how an image looks. It’s partly inside her, something innate, and partly a learnt thing. Sadly, models today don’t get the chance to learn. The industry demands constant change – and yet Kate endures.

Of course, there’s also her physical form: Kate’s body has amazing proportions, and clothes fit her perfectly. What’s less known – and extra special – about her is that she is always present, in the moment of whatever she’s doing. She’s really committed, not looking at a phone, not wondering what she’s doing next. She’s real with designers – she’s charming, engaging, intelligent. They have a great time with her. She clicked with Lee [Alexander McQueen] on a personal level; they had their background in common – the East End boy and the Croydon girl. She ticked so many boxes for him. Yet she was always a little nervous about doing his shows, worried about looking slightly ridiculous. That’s another thing about Kate – she’s clear about her boundaries. She will only go as far as she wants to, and if something detracts from the overall portrait of beauty, she will be the first to say. She has such a strong sense of it – she’s not willing to let it go.

I think what’s particularly alluring about her is that she has always been an enigma – she doesn’t court the press, doesn’t play that game, and that has helped feed the intrigue. She also has the X factor, that thing. We have always been obsessed with her because she is real; we sometimes see her a little worse for wear, her makeup not quite right, her eyes puffy. We want the life we know she leads – which has been played out in public – the gigs she goes to, the parties. She really is friends with the f***ing Rolling Stones! She has that appealing, carefree attitude that is so attractive. I remember when she left the Met Ball with her dress a little ripped – isn’t that so much sexier to a man than the beautiful girl who is so perfectly polished? She brings her bad-girl attitude to anything she does – and brands want that cool.

I think about how young she was when she lived with Johnny Depp. He was a proper movie star at the height of his career, and she was only 20 when they were dating. They went to Cannes [Film Festival] and to all these incredible places. He must have shown her an awful lot, plus her career took her all over the world at such a young age. These experiences have made her worldly and heightened her sense of occasion, which she brings to all that she does.