TALK OF THE TOWN: Collapse of Kate Moss's scents brand really stinks, say workers
With her beauty brand Cosmoss teetering on the brink of collapse, Kate Moss has been accused of leaving her staff in the lurch – and failing to pay them for months.
After the depth of the company's woes was revealed by The Mail on Sunday last week, employees came forward with first-hand accounts from the ailing outfit.
They say the model stopped paying them in January, having quietly decided to stop financing the venture, then fired them two months ago with no explanation.
One manager told me last night: 'We've not been paid all year. At the start of 2025, Kate decided to shut down the project and we were given zero guidance on what to do with customers, how to communicate or what to say to creditors. A lot of people have started asking if they are going to get paid.'
Cosmoss, which sells perfumes and creams, was launched with much fanfare in 2022. But Moss, 51, decided to stop financing the brand in early 2024 and it limped until last month when employees took matters into their own hands.
'We had to shut down the website because there was absolutely no guidance,' the source added. 'There were no people to run the store, yet people were ordering. What were we to do? The products were not able to be shipped.'
The remaining team of just four have continued to manage day-to-day operations in the hope that they will eventually be paid.
'Initially we were told she wanted to pay off everyone and shut down the operation in the proper way but in January this year the situation changed. We realised that there was no intention of paying anyone, so we had to dismiss everyone.'
Last week, we revealed products from Cosmoss, which has overdue accounts at Companies House, had appeared on a fire-sale website at up to 75 per cent off.
The source said: 'I assume a liquidation firm was brought in. The money [for our salaries] is not going to come from anywhere other than her pocket. If you commit to something and pull the plug, it's your responsibility to finish it in a good way.'
Ms Moss's representatives did not respond to a request for comment.
Now Holly's making waves on the beach
She's engaged to Olympic swimming champion Adam Peaty – but now it 's Holly Ramsay's turn to make a splash.
The eldest daughter of celebrity chef Gordon is the latest ambassador for Victoria's Secret, a brand famous for racy lingerie, but also associated with swimwear.
The 25-year-old influencer posted a video of herself posing on the beach in a bright red bikini, prompting her dutiful fiance, 29, to respond with an emoji with love-heart eyes.
The day after the post, Holly had to miss the Miami Grand Prix because of food poisoning.
Should have stuck with dad's grub!
The 'new Firehouse' has neighbours fuming
With A-list haunt Chiltern Firehouse facing an expensive rebuild after February's fire, a rival has swooped in to fill the void.
The owners of trendy Notting Hill pub The Pelican are aiming to open 'the new Chiltern' in September, just a couple of doors away.
But locals are not happy about the venture, called The Hart.
'People were severely affected by noise from the Firehouse, and are scared it's going to be a repeat performance,' one tells me.
So has Dolly lost the plot?
As the author of two novels, you might expect Dolly Alderton to know how to weave a plot.
Not so, she says.
'I went to a bookstore in Canada and all my books were in a section called Plotless Fiction,' she told an event at networking society The Trouble Club.
Her response? 'I'm not that bothered about plot personally.'
How convenient!
Trouble in paradise
The latest season of The White Lotus had as much drama off-screen as on it, I hear.
Jason Isaacs and co-star Parker Posey were reportedly at each other's throats while fliming in Thailand.
'There was little love lost,' said a source.
'A deathly silence fell between them as soon as the cameras stopped rolling.'
All involved are keeping shtum.
POOR David Gilmour. The Pink Floyd star has been trying to sell his Brighton seafront mansion for three years, to no avail. He listed it on the market at £15million in 2022 and now, I can reveal, he's slashed the price to £8.95million. This is the second time he's lowered it, having knocked it back to £10million in 2023 – yet still no takers. Sometimes even a guitar hero can't strike the right chord.
Spotted
Channing Tatum living up to his Magic Mike character and 'slut-dropping' in the green room at Soho celeb hangout The Devonshire.
Lady Amelia Windsor, left, day-raving at Queen's Yard summer party in Hackney – not to be confused with the Buckingham Palace garden party...
Nicola Roberts of Girls Aloud fame dining at the next table to Robbie Williams' wife Ayda at Kensington Roof Gardens.
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