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Kate's 14 steps to £30m
By Bella Blissett, Evening Standard Last updated at 16:54pm on 14.09.06
Moss gathering millions: Kate is now the face of 14 separate advertising campaigns
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Nearly a year to the day since Kate Moss was sacked by high street retailer H&M, she is riding high as the face of a record 14 advertising campaigns.
Her £11million annual income is now believed to have tripled to more than £30 million.
The fashion world was divided when photographs of Moss allegedly snorting cocaine were published. Some advertisers dropped her; others stood by her.
But after 12 months, the scandal seems to have boosted her career with a host of international contracts worth between $1million and $3 million each for prestige brands Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Calvin Klein and Christian Dior.
Fashion experts said the scandal has had an amazing effect. Marina Marzotto at Propaganda GEM said: "Good or bad, the cocaine scandal reinforced her notoriety. She's come out the other end of the celebrity meat grinder stronger than ever, just by being herself."
New York retail analyst Jim Hurley said: "She's like the goose that laid the golden egg. Everyone wants her." The once gawky teenager, spotted at JFK airport in New York by Storm model agency founder Sarah Doukas now has the power to lend cult status to any brand - from Bulgari jewellery to Virgin Mobile phones.
Sales of Coty's Rimmel have risen 20 per cent each year since it signed Moss in 2001. Last week, Moss was photographed clutching a £2.99 Superdrug charity bag - sales have since shot up 10-fold.
Francesca Newland, acting editor of Campaign, trade magazine for the advertising industry, said: "It is unusual for one person to dominate so many advertising campaigns simultaneously. Moss is 32 years old in a slavishly ageist industry yet she adds an edgy cool factor to high-profile brands like Virgin and Rimmel. I can't think of any other celebrity who has been the face of so many campaigns at once."
Moss was told she would not face prosecution over the drug allegation. The Crown Prosecution Service said video footage indicated that the model had taken drugs but there was insufficient evidence to charge her.
