Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer et al were the first imitable supermodels. They created a new breed of celebrity, and people became more aware of how fashion transferred from the catwalk to the high street. Kate and her mates were clothes horses for designers both on and off the runway resembled art. Now even if she goes out for a packet of Marlboro lights, Kate’s outfit is analysed and replicated by fashionistas all over the UK in a way it would not have been in the early and mid-nineties. If back stage in 1993 she had revealed a desire to design her own clothing line, her agent would have probably laughed in her face. But her line of clothing launches in Topshop this May. So will it live up to media expectations? Rather than the edgy, high fashion of the runway, we want our clothes to declare that we, like Kate Moss, can chuck together an amazing outfit just for the pub. Demand for the Moss ‘brand’ comes from our desire to convince both of an acute eye for fashion and our supermodel potential.

Recent experiments with celebrity branding, from J-Lo’s perfume and Cindy Crawford’s fitness video to Elle McPherson’s underwear, convince us that we can now smell, exercise and have sex like a star. It’s not only the fashion industry that turns celebs into brands: pop into your local Sainsbury’s and you too can own a Jamie Oliver garlic crusher. When the Jade Goody racism scandal broke, the first sign of her celebrity downfall was when The Perfume Shop withdrew her line of fragrance. Even if it had smelled divine (which it didn’t) her celebrity brand was in tatters.

Nicole Kidman was paid a cool $5 million to keep Chanel No. 5 as the world's leading perfume

Grazia magazine was launched in 2004 as the UK’s only weekly glossy. More accessible, cheap and lightweight than Vogue, it has proven crucial in creating trends like the celebrity “it” bag. By pointing out the ubiquity of Alexander McQueen’s skull scarf, the easily-influenced reader is persuaded to run all the way to New Look to grab a look alike. This isn’t a fashion-obsessed society, rather, it one infatuated with the status of celebrity. In exchange for our individuality we hunt out a look that could have been lifted from Grazia’s page three, “This week’s most wanted.” The ever-changing trends and celebrity brands must be affordable in order to differentiate from the revered designers of the catwalk.

And of course, it’s big business. Brand association is why the LA Galaxy paid in the region of $100 million for the services of an ageing former captain of a persistently underachieving football team. But failure can come at a price; Beckham was dropped by a well known brand of sunglasses after a disappointing World Cup, in favour of the more “masculine” Antonio Banderas. Designers hire the services of particular actresses who “embody the values” of their brands. And I say actresses advisedly – of the top ten earners, only one is male; Brad Pitt at number eight. Catherine Zeta Jones manages to pull in more than $20 million a year, whilst Nicole Kidman was paid a cool $5 million to keep Chanel No.5 as the world’s leading perfume. Even in death, the famous are branded commodities; the casket attire of the recently deceased Anna Nicole Smith is subject to a legal wrangle that will be decided by a Florida judge.

This recent version of celebrity branding from J-Lo's perfume and Cindy Crawford's fitness video to Elle McPherson's underwear convince us that we can now smell, exercise and have sex like a star

Despite, or perhaps because of, the vacuous idea of celebrity replication, there has been a recent interest in vintage clothing. And I don’t mean Topshop’s ‘kooky’ rail. I mean hunting through Cancer Research charity shops and market stalls for genuine 60s skirts that don’t quite fit but look quite good with an oversized belt. Those with a genuine interest in fashion as a form of expression relish this opportunity. A reaction to the mass-produced concept of fast fashion, charity and vintage shops promote individuality and self-styling.
Every girl’s dream, a private consultation with Jimmy Choo, evokes Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw and her shoe obsession, as well as the celebrity clients that must have passed through his doors. But the most wonderful thing about them isn’t the celebrity status of his couture line but the fact that they are a one-off, a unique work of art that surely will change both your life and your feet.