Kate Moss Zara party collection has everything for the modern woman ... and their daughters

What do you think of when you think of Kate Moss? Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels? Her Cosmoss wellness range? The ‘Get the London Look’ Rimmel ads?

No. When you think of Kate Moss you think of her clothes – off duty and on the red carpet – and you think of parties: flashbulbs popping outside nightclubs, stepping out of black cabs, swinging through the doors of The Dorchester, or outside the Met Bar.

Wall-to-wall parties stretching from her earliest outing in that silvery see-through slip dress back in 1993, to the black lace dress and satin cape she wore for her 50th birthday party in Paris this year.

Kate Moss is a fashion icon but she is, first and foremost, the poster woman for partying with style. So, the long-awaited new collaboration between High Street giant Zara and Kate – with input from her long-term ally, legendary stylist Katy England – that focuses on party classics just in time for the festive season, is causing a lot of excitement, to put it mildly.

The capsule collection is ‘inspired by favourites from her covetable, lovingly curated archives’, words that are music to our ears. We don’t want new and groundbreaking, we want Kate’s style, tweaked for this moment in time because that’s her skill. Always classic with a contemporary edge.

Someone has already had the bright idea of plundering Kate’s wardrobe and getting her to design a collection for the High Street. That was, of course, Top- Shop back in 2007 and as you may remember it was a rip-roaring success, with Kate appearing in the window of the flagship store on Oxford Street in London and that short vintage-style print tea dress changing hands for ten times the price within days.

Kate went on to do 14 collections for TopShop (the last one was in 2014) and some of the clothes are still being snapped up online – a silver flapper dress is currently listed on eBay for £1,157! There were party pieces in those collections, but they were more cruises around the Greatest Hits of Kate’s wardrobe, as was her 2015 collaboration with Mango. A decade later, this Zara collection cuts to the chase – Party Kate – and that’s what gives it cross-generational appeal.

Kate’s iconic evening looks over the years – whether a slick satin blazer (there’s one in the new collection) or a long, bias-cut floral print tea dress (again, it’s in there) have a different kind of wearability from the rest of her wardrobe.

A leopard jacket (yes, worry not) slung over a slinky black frock; something sequin under a velvet cape (there’s a swooshy black cape, naturally)... these are looks that have worked for generations of glamorous It Women and ones that we can all buy into, whatever age we are. And who better than Kate, the most stylish Brit in memory and the ultimate party girl (despite now being sober) to deliver the goods for the rest of us.

Actress Sienna Miller’s recent party collection for Marks & Spencer, in store now, has already been a huge success, so you may be thinking is there room for two Nineties It Girls on the High Street? The answer is, yes there is, but for the real deal, and accessibility, my money is on Kate.

As for the best of this 30-piece Zara collection, I’d start with the gold T-bar shoes that are one of those ‘make an outfit’ pairs you could put with anything and make it instantly Kate classy. The silver sandals and red satin heels are likewise to die for, if you can walk in them. For those who love a leopard print flat pump, Kate has done those, too.

The silvery white satin tuxedo (a nod to one of her inspirations, Hollywood actress Lauren Hutton) is elegant and crisply cut, to wear with Zara X Kate Moss wide velvet trousers or the narrower ones if you prefer. Kate’s never abandoned skinny. There’s a black tuxedo in there too, of course.

A taste of Moss’s wardrobe wouldn’t be truly Kate without her trademark leopard-print jacket, and this one is classic Kate: double breasted peacoat style, with sharp lapels, in a great looking vintage-feel print. It is one of Kate’s favourites, apparently, and pretty much guaranteed to be an instant sell out. Get it while you can. It will make everything look chic and just cool enough.

Moss’s other signature is a strong dose of sensuality. She’s included lots of satin – a matching pale peach blouse and draped skirt – and there’s endless velvet in the collection. A tactile element is all important in putting together her party look.

Naturally, there are pieces in there that are more Lila Moss (her daughter) than most women Kate’s age – among them a silver lurex split mini-dress (not unlike the one she wore to Glastonbury in 2005 with Hunter wellies), snakeprint shorts and a beaded bralet. But that makes it all the more fun for the rest of us.

We can dip a toe in Kate’s world this Christmas, sling her metallic- flecked brocade drummer boy jacket over an old black dress (her personal recommendation for a ‘Christmas party, going out for dinner and lending you a bit of sparkle’), or put on a lacey top and trousers and feel like we’ve still got it. Your daughter will be going wild for the leopard print bra and pants set, to be worn so you show a little or a lot.

“Mixing classic cuts with just the right amount of glam to take you through the party season” is how Moss herself describes these clothes. And just the right amount is just what Kate is all about.