Despite the headlines, the drama and the scandals, it is rare to get any real glimpse into the extraordinary world of Kate Moss.
Eschewing interviews, many have never even heard her voice.
So it’s fascinating to see the supermodel open up for the December issue of Vanity Fair… and admit to body hang-ups, tears and insecurities…
Kate on the 1992 Calvin Klein shoot that propelled her to fame : ‘I had a nervous breakdown when I was 17 or 18, when I had to go and work with Marky Mark and Herb Ritts. It didn’t feel like me at all.
‘I felt really bad about straddling this buff guy. I didn’t like it. I couldn’t get out of bed for two weeks. I thought I was going to die.
‘It was just anxiety. Nobody takes care of you mentally. There’s a massive pressure to do what you have to do. I was really little, and I was going to work with (photographer) Steven Meisel.’
Image by Mert Alas & Marcus Piggot
On nudity: ‘I’d lock myself in the toilet and cry and then come out and do it. I never felt very comfortable about it. There’s a lot of boobs. I hated my boobs! Because I was flat-chested. And I had a big mole on one.’
On Johnny Depp: ’There’s nobody that’s ever really been able to take care of me. Johnny did for a bit. I believed what he said. And that’s what I missed when I left. I really lost that gauge of somebody I could trust. Nightmare. Years and years of crying. Oh, the tears!’
On ‘heroin chic’: ‘I had never even taken heroin—it was nothing to do with me at all. I was thin, but that’s because I was doing shows, working really hard. At that time, I was staying at a B and B in Milan, and you’d get home from work and there was no food. You’d get to work in the morning, there was no food.
‘Nobody took you out for lunch when I started. Carla Bruni took me out for lunch once. She was really nice. Otherwise, you don’t get fed. But I was never anorexic. They knew it wasn’t true—otherwise I wouldn’t be able to work.’
On being a style icon: ‘I just wear black jeans now. Or gray. If you do a different look every day, they’re going to be waiting for the next look, and then it’s a paparazzi shot. Whereas if you just wear the same thing, then they get bored and leave you alone.’
On settling down: ‘I don’t really go to clubs anymore. I’m actually quite settled. Living in Highgate with my dog and my husband and my daughter! I’m not a hell-raiser. But don’t burst the bubble. Behind closed doors, for sure I’m a hell-raiser.’
Read more: vanityfair.com
