300. And counting. That's how many international issues of Vogue Kate Moss has appeared on the cover of.
3. Or more is the number of inches the 5' 7'' model is shorter than her supermodel peers.
14. The age Moss was when she was discovered at JFK airport. (And the number of millions she earned in 2011).
The numbers in Kate Moss' past just don't add up to the superstardom she has achieved. In his new book, "Kate Moss: The Making Of An Icon," author Christian Salmon examines in great detail the path that brought Moss to her unexpected fame. Is it her middle class background in post-Margaret Thatcher England? Is it her chameleon-esque looks? Did she just get lucky?
"In 2003, American artist Alex Katz attempted an explanation: '[Moss] is completely ordinary. That's what makes her extraordinary.'" Salmon wrote. This is just one of many quotes that appear throughout the book, as Salmon asked those who know Moss best about their theories for her success, even Moss' biographer, Katherine Kendall, who wrote, "these are contradictions that explain Moss's resonance in our time. She is at once accessible and unapproachable, vulnerable and strong, real and fantastic, delicate and fierce, sexual and androgynous."
Everyone who worked with Moss has found different reasons to love her, as Salmon found:
"For photographer Bruce Weber, 'The excitement you feel when photographing her can only be compared to what you feel when photographing an animal that's just born, or a little wild kid.'"
"According to Veronique Rampazzo of the Marilyn Agency, 'It is precisely because Kate Moss has 'easy' features and nothing special or striking that it is easy for her to transform herself, to interpret: she is imminently malleable.'"
"For photographer Nick Knight, who shot Moss for some ten Vogue covers, 'There is a normalcy about her. She's very beautiful, of course... but she comes from the same world as I do. She's trendy, she's cool, she's funny, but in the end she's a young British girl like the others."
A controversial, beautiful and surprising figure, writers and editors alike will never cease to be fascinated in Moss and her waif-like looks. Take a peek in our gallery below for a preview of the book and order the book on Amazon.com.
