by There is no greater poster girl for British party culture than Kate Moss. Whether it’s her deity as a saint of the Glastonbury grounds, her ability to make the most unhappy night out is like an album cover (you might remember Pete Doherty and that window picture) or her behind-the-scenes champions. behavior at fashion shows — she once described her first 10 years of modeling as “being drunk for ten years” — Kate was born to party. And how fitting, then, that some of Moss’ most iconic party legends have arrived on her birthday.
She has laid it down in recent years – this year’s 50th birthday celebrations are set to be hosted by the Caribbean island of Mustique, the “gold standard” of luxury renaissance which hosted the Prince and Princess of Wales’ family holiday last year . Between the non-British locale and Kate’s apparent newfound sobriety, we doubt her previous parties will catch up this year. But then, you know what they say: you can take the girl out of England…
From noise complaints and rumors of orgies to Bond girl outfits and spit roasts, here’s a look back at some of Mossy’s most famous soirees on January 16.
Claridge’s, the chaos and complaints of the council
Kate Moss’s 30th birthday was an evening so relaxed and fun that she has earned a permanent place in British party lore, which is highly commendable. It started and ended in Claridge’s, with a roaring house party used as an intermission.
First, the legendary London hotel hosted drinks for those closest to Kate – Sadie Frost, Stella McCartney, all the usual suspects – where Kate arrived wearing a yellow Sue Stemp cocktail dress, a look that became so popular that she would later model. one of her Kate Moss designs for Topshop around him. The group of friends got ready and changed into costumes to match Kate’s theme — The Beautiful and the Damned — in which Kate donned a midnight blue sequined dress, originally worn by Bond girl Britt Ekland for the 1974 premiere. The man with the Golden gun.
The group then proceeded to the home of Sam Taylor-Wood, the new director who would go on to become Sam Taylor-Johnson, director of Anywhere Boy and Fifty shades of gray, and wife of Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Guests included Kate’s boyfriend du jour (and now baby daddy) Jefferson Hack, Ronnie Wood, Tracey Emin, Naomi Campbell and the late superhero Lee Alexander McQueen. Unfortunately, things got a little loud at Taylor-Wood’s for locals, and noise abatement officers visited the premises at around 1.45am. So the party dragged themselves back to Claridge’s to continue until 7.30am.
Kate spread herself across two rooms on the seventh floor and straddled a piano and played Summer time by Jools Holland, apparently knocking back bottle after bottle of Cristal Champagne. Although we don’t know the rest of the events of that night, we do know that the party was very crazy with Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin leaving early, and Ronnie Wood flying off the pile. He later described Kate as ‘a lovely nutcase’. A spy at the party told the Mirror afterwards: “As far as Kate was concerned, it was her day and nobody was going to spoil it – especially Westminster Council.”
Glam rock, Chanel and Soho
Fast forward four years, and Kate is decked out in another sparkling birthday outfit – this time a star-print Chanel number, with a Bowie-esque star lovingly painted across her eye by close friend and makeup artist Charlotte Tilbury. It was a glam rock theme, and the celebration started at The Dorchester at 2pm, where Kate hired two floors (to the tune of £20,000) to drink champagne with 19 of her girlfriends. She then dined at the hotel’s China Tang restaurant with friends and family before heading to the main party at Punk in Soho.
Moss danced to ’80s rock until 3am with Kelly Osbourne, Davinia Taylor, Mario Testino, David Walliams and her boyfriend at the time, The Kills rocker Jamie Hince. Like the Claridge’s bash, Kate then returned to The Dorchester’s Royal Penthouse with a handful of close friends, where they drank Diamond Chasers – a cocktail of vintage champagne, brandy, and a “special unknown ingredient” created especially for Britain’s Princess Margaret . in the 60s. But it wasn’t to be – the party moved on to the home of Miu Miu model Rose Ferguson at around 6am, before she left at 8am and returned with just a handful of die-hard friends to Kate’s house in St John’s, where they were spotted entering. with several bottles of vodka.
All in all, it was an 18-hour effort from Mossy – much to her dismay. She planned to do 34 hours, to celebrate 34 years. Not a bad effort, though. And as it turned out, Kate would make it up more the following year…
A medieval trail in Saint John’s Wood
A year later, and Kate was clearly still worried about the moment she missed the 34-hour target. By Kate’s measures, 18 hours wasn’t enough. So, for her 35th birthday, the supermodel decided to throw a medieval-themed house party that turned into an amazing four-day bender. Paparazzi must have been crying as they watched pig roasts, oxen on walls, tiger busts, medieval benches and, uh, old fire extinguishers arriving outside Moss’ in John’s house during the day.
Meanwhile, Kate was busy at the avant party: a nine-hour drinking session at China Tang, clearly her favorite from the previous year’s celebration. This birthday was an all-black affair, with Kate stepping out in a black fur coat, T-shirt dress and silver jewellery.
After losing interest and downing several more bottles of Cristal, Kate went to her house for the party, which continued for more than 48 hours, much to the anger of her neighbours. Hairdresser and stylist James Brown, Sadie Frost, Stella McCartney, Davinia Taylor, Abbey Clancy and Peter Crouch were all in attendance, dancing to the Beach Boys, Meat Loaf and Queen at the top numbers. One neighbor told publications at the time: “I went to bed at midnight but I couldn’t sleep because the music from the house was so loud. Even with double glazing.”
Tattoos, bending and party barns
Kate Moss was defiant that turning 40 wasn’t going to dampen her party spirit, nor was it going to put her in a box: just two months before Kate reached the milestone, she appeared on the cover of Playboy in a sheer outfit birthday for the first time. So anyone who thought Mossy’s 40th could be a bone of contention was quickly corrected. Instead, it was another multi-day best, this time spread across the different counties as well.
Starting in London, Kate wined and dined with her family at 34 Mayfair, where they had a custom champagne coupe created in Kate’s name just for the occasion. The usual people were present — Stella, Sadie, et al. — as well as many other famous faces, including Nick Grimshaw, John Galliano, Naomi Campbell and Kate’s then-husband Jamie Hince. For this part of the celebration, Moss wore her signature leopard coat, lace LBD and brogues with patent heels.
But it wasn’t until the guests decamped to Kate’s 10-bedroom home in the Cotswolds that things really got going. A Glastonbury-themed birthday bash was held, in honor of Kate’s long-standing love of the Somerset music festival. As usual at Mossy’s birthdays, no cameras were allowed, meaning the outfits and events remain undisclosed, but we do know this much: most of the party took place in a “party barn” Moss, a permanent fixture of the Cotswolds house that treated attendees to live performances from Massive Attack, Primal Scream, Soul II Soul and members of Oasis (we assume this is singular, not plural, unless Kate has won the blind draw and she hosted Liam and Noel’s reunion together that night).
And those who joined the nearby caravan were given a more permanent party favor: a heart tattoo, with an infinity symbol inked through the middle. You can say what you like about our Kate, but she knows how to host a party.
