Eamonn McCormack
When I Googled “Kate Moss in the 2000s” for the purposes of this piece, I had intended to spend around 20 minutes or so on my search. Instead, I ended up scrolling and scrolling until my eyes felt dry and glazed. Kate Moss in a jaunty fedora. Kate Moss in skinny jeans. Kate Moss smoking a ciggie at Glastonbury circa 2006 while wading through mud with a rakish Pete Doherty on her arm. Kate Moss in a big, fat belt and even bigger, fatter shades. Honestly, alongside Alexa Chung, Sienna Miller, and Naomi Campbell, there really isn’t anyone who embodies British cool quite like Moss does. And now, in 2025, when Y2K fever has reached its peak, her Noughties style has never felt more pertinent.
It’s why she’s become a fixture on my summer moodboard this year. Because, look, it’s not easy dressing for summer—especially if, like me, you naturally gravitate towards darker colours and baggier fits. But now that we’re on the brink of everyone’s favourite season, it’s worth taking stock and seeing what we’re working with. And where better to start than with a slew of throwback Kate Moss looks? As Lee McQueen said (via a T-shirt) in 2005: “We love you, Kate.” Here’s what to wear this summer, according to Kate Moss.
Waistcoat and barely-there shorts
I haven’t seen this look since approx 2009, but *checks calendar* I think it’s time to bring it back. Waistcoat with nothing underneath? Booty riders that are only just about acceptable away from the beach? Bug-eyed shades and dirty blonde hair? What’s not to love? The Hunter wellies might only work at Glastonbury, but that’s just round the corner too, so…
XL shades and a minidress
Sometimes in the summer, it’s so hot that you don’t even want to think about what to wear. You don’t even want to look at your wardrobe. You just want to throw something on and be done with it. Enter: the one-and-done minidress, as worn by Kate Moss shlepping around Notting Hill in 2006. This outfit isn’t complete without the XL shades. Bonus points for a worn-in-looking handbag, probably stuffed with make-up and old lighters.
Bootcuts and a lightweight top
One thing that Moss has always been very good at is keeping it simple. She’s not unlike Jennifer Aniston in the sense that she knows the power of some good quality denim and a plain tee paired with sandals. This look from 2007, which exudes the faintest whisper of boho thanks to the feather earrings and brown leather belt, is one of my favorites, and very easy to replicate for 2025.
Shorts and wedges
This is a relatively demure look for Kate: black shorts, a lightweight cardi, aviator shades, and towering boho wedges, the latter of which has become something of an It-shoe for summer, both this year and last. “When considering wedges for yourself, it’s crucial to assess your style persona,” Alex Kessler previously wrote for British Vogue. “Are you a French Riviera sophisticate, shuttling between town car and restaurant table, or a carefree soul frolicking in Tuscan gardens?” Or are you, in fact, Kate Moss sauntering out of Cipriani’s almost exactly 20 years ago?
Jeans tucked into knee-high boots
Sorry, but Gen Xers ate when they invented the boot tuck. This might be more of an autumn look—this pic was snapped on September 1 in 2003—but who knows what the temperature will be saying come summer. Either way, the boot tuck has been sneaking back into our style periphery more recently. British Vogue’s Julia Hobbs is a big fan. “I’m living by my own mantra that skinny jeans walked so jeans in boots could run,” she said earlier this year, adding that, “What started as a tongue-in-cheek take on ‘date-night dressing’ has become my everyday uniform.”
This article was originally published on British Vogue.
