Model designers

Clothes horses are trotting off the catwalk to create their own collections, but do they have the talent?

The hottest new British fashion designer of 2007 is not, as you might expect, some kooky young prodigy fresh out of London's Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. In fact, she has no design training at all. She has, however, spent nearly two decades at the centre of the fashion industry, notching up 23 Vogue covers and a few million in the bank along the way. She is, of course, Kate Moss.


In September, when Moss's new role as designer of her own Topshop range was an unconfirmed rumour, it had already attracted the kind of column centimetres most British designers spend their careers dreaming of. When the 90-piece range finally hits stores on May 1, scenes of mass hysteria are guaranteed. Few have thought to quibble with Moss's transition from wearing clothes to designing them - she is simply the latest and most high-profile example of a growing trend.


Elle Macpherson long ago graduated from life as a supermodel to being head of a thriving empire. In the past 18 months, Jovovich-Hawk - designed by Milla Jovovich and Carmen Hawk, both successful models - has become one of the most critically acclaimed small labels at New York fashion week. A stint on the catwalk is starting to look like a better leg-up in the designer ranks than an eye-catching degree show or an internship at Armani.


Moss is as famous for her wardrobe as she was for her waif-like figure 15 years ago. She has a finely tuned instinct for spotting a trend early. Combined with the ability to impart sex appeal to the most unlikely garments, she creates a virtuous circle: she spots something that could become a trend and she wears it, which guarantees it catches on. Even Hunter wellies, favoured footwear of pig farmers and fishermen, were imbued with glamour the moment Moss sported them backstage at a music festival.


Even at the height of her cover-girl fame, Macpherson says she never felt comfortable about making her career out of modelling. "I was a surfer chick studying law in Sydney," she says. "I started modelling to pay for school books. Fashion never really resonated with me, but five years into my career I had done a lot of lingerie shoots and I realised I could use my experience, along with the recognition I had, to launch a company. It was a business decision."


Macpherson was not the first model to cross over to designing - Twiggy put her name to a range of dresses in the 1960s - but the Australian's success as a businesswoman has altered perceptions of life beyond the catwalk. Macpherson modelled her early collections; today she is creative director of lingerie brand Elle Macpherson Intimates, a role that involves "working on design, packaging and behind-the-scenes stuff, as well as getting out front and selling it to the public".