When Kate Moss’ daughter Lila Grace recently left a fashion party wearing far less than she arrived in, it was interpreted as her racy mother passing on her daring sense of style.
The teenager had jettisoned her knee-length frock and stripped down to a sheer black chiffon dress and a short leather jacket. How very handy for the limelight-loving mother and daughter that a paparazzo was there to photograph them at the members’ club Laylow on the edge of West London’s Notting Hill.
Mini Moss stole the show from her 46-year-old mum when the pictures were published, as her public profile shot from relatively unrecognisable young girl to supermodel-in-waiting.
And a supermodel just like her mother, if her risque frock was anything to go by. For it bore a subtle resemblance to a head-turning dress that Kate wore 27 years ago.
SHEER AMBITION: Lila (second from left) steps out last month in a see-through dress, just like mother Kate did 27 years ago (right)
It is perhaps unsurprising that fashionistas are now suggesting that Moss senior is masterminding not only her daughter’s style, but her fledgling career.
Industry sources say that rather than focusing on her own fame, her priority these days is to launch Lila on to the fashion scene.
Already the 18-year-old is the principal client at her modelling company, Kate Moss Agency, based in London’s Soho. Others on the books include the pop singer Rita Ora and Game Of Thrones actress Gwendoline Christie.
Both mum and daughter have the same flowing blonde locks, similar features and – it seems – fashion sense. Just days ago, as they celebrated Lila’s 18th birthday at the exclusive Japanese restaurant Nobu on London’s Park Lane, they appeared clone-like in black dresses and patterned face masks and their hair loose.
Indeed, over recent weeks it has appeared as if both senior and junior Moss relish the chance to step out in public in similar outfits.
Lila’s status as a mini-me went into overdrive when it emerged that Kate had handed over what appeared to be the old white Mini Cooper she drove 19 years ago.
Lila looked ecstatic when the 1998-registration vehicle was delivered to the family home in Highgate, North London, as a special gift to celebrate her milestone birthday last Tuesday. Like so many children of celebrities, being part of their parents’ ‘brand’ seems a rite of passage.
VINTAGE MODEL: Lila gets a white Mini for her 18th birthday seemingly the same car Kate had in 2001
Lila – pronounced Lie-la – already has almost 100,000 followers on social media site Instagram.
Significantly, she has ditched her publishing executive father Jefferson Hack’s surname and is now known simply as Lila Moss.
Kate, meanwhile, is earning herself a reputation as a so-called ‘momager’ – or mom-manager – by employing her business brain to make a superstar of her daughter.
And her hard work already appears to be paying off.
Three weeks ago, Lila was unveiled as the face of a perfume by US fashion designer Marc Jacobs. In a high-profile campaign for the fragrance, called Perfect, she paid tribute to her mother for introducing her to the world of fashion and beauty.
In a promotional interview, Lila cooed: ‘I remember when I was two, my mum and I were staying in New York. She was getting ready to go out and I saw this super sparkly, deep black eye shadow on her dressing table.
‘I made one of her friends apply it on me and spent the rest of the evening tottering around the room in a pair of my mum’s high heels.’
The teenager began working with the designer in 2018 when she became the face of Marc Jacobs Beauty – ten years after he first met her on holiday in Ibiza and Formentera when she was just six.
Back then, Jacobs revealed recently, he was already impressed with the youngster, saying: ‘Lila’s strong character, demeanour and great beauty was already very apparent.’ She also has a deal with the fashion house Mui Mui, and has worked with Chanel.
And with her mother’s help, Lila is also notching up a host of A-list friends. She mingled with celebrity guests at Jacobs’ wedding to former model Char Defrancesco in New York last year.
Kate Moss is pictured in September 2001 in her white Mini Cooper, similar to the one she bought her daughter for her 18th birthday, in Notting Hill
She was also on the invitation list for the wedding of Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank in 2018. American supermodels Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner have become close friends, too.
Lila is also close to Iris Law, the daughter of Sadie Frost and Jude Law, as well as the couple’s eldest son Rafferty.
One source says: ‘Lila goes everywhere Kate goes, and gets introduced to the most important and influential people in the fashion and showbusiness worlds.’
Another friend who dined with mother and daughter in Ibiza this summer described Lila as ‘terribly confident’ and ‘able to network with people of all ages’. The friend added: ‘She seemed very sensible and grown up.’
That will probably come as little surprise, considering how fast her mother had to grow up.
Famously discovered at the age of 14 by a model scout at JFK airport in New York, she became a central member of the infamous Primrose Hill Set in London.
Notoriously, as she revelled in her party girl reputation, she was photographed snorting cocaine at a London recording studio.
DUPLI-KATE: Mum’s influence over her daughter’s fashion sense was highlighted when the pair went out in similar black outfits and patterned face masks last week
And there has been a succession of unsuitable men, including heroin-taking rock star Pete Doherty and comedian Russell Brand. After splitting from Lila’s father Jefferson Hack and then from musician Jamie Hince, whom she married in 2011, Kate is now happily ensconced in a relationship with Harrow-educated Nikolai von Bismarck, who at 33 is 13 years her junior.
‘You can only imagine that Kate has learned by her own mistakes and will steer her daughter away from behaving in the same way,’ said an associate of Lila’s mother.
Despite not using her father’s surname, Lila has benefited from his positive influence.
After she secured her Marc Jacobs beauty campaign in 2018, just weeks after her 16th birthday, Lila graced the front of Dazed – the trendy publication where Hack is chief executive.
Dressed in an oversized black and white spotted dress and a hat with a netted veil, it was accompanied by the headline Lila Moss: Who’s That Girl?
The family connections didn’t stop there. The photoshoot was styled by her godmother Katy England – one of Kate’s best friends and right-hand woman for more almost three decades.
More recently, Lila was again the cover girl for Dazed, shot by superstar photographer Tim Walker.
But if anyone can create a family dynasty of Moss supermodels, it’s proud mum Kate – who’s made an estimated fortune of £60 million from the fashion world.