On May 29, one of the most anticipated films of the season will be released – the biopic “Moss and Freud” about the relationship between supermodel Kate Moss and artist Lucian Freud. We tell you the most interesting things.
Kate dancing at a 30th birthday party in her voluminous fur coat and heels; Kate sprinting in John Galliano's iconic Union Jack jacket… From the fashion to the overall aesthetic, the first trailer for “Moss and Freud” instantly transports you to the dawn of the new millennium.
The first exclusive shot, released by British Vogue, shows Ellie Bamber as era-defining supermodel Kate Moss, posing on a ladder in a giant, layered skirt, accessorized with the same Union Jack jacket—a real trophy for fashion insiders.
Moss first appeared in it in 1993 on the Paris catwalk of Galliano's spring-summer collection, and later returned to this look in 2022 during the celebration of the Platinum Jubilee. And the best thing: the film used not a reconstruction, but the original from the model's personal archive. So it's worth waiting for even more fashion “Easter eggs” that will make you hold your breath.
The role that changes everything
Ellie Bamber will play Kate Moss, while Emmy Award winner Derek Jacobi will play Freud. Bamber will live with her through the turbulent 2000s, a decade when Moss was in a relationship with Jefferson Heck, had a daughter, Lila, and entered her thirties with flying colors.
The first paparazzi shots from the set have already shown Bamber in the original navy blue sequined dress – the same one that Moss chose for her legendary party at Claridge's in the style of The Beautiful and the Damned. Incidentally, this dress previously belonged to Britt Ekland and debuted at the premiere of The Man with the Golden Gun.
A film about the intense period in Kate Moss' life
The film covers one of the most intense and intimate periods of Moss's life – the time when Freud painted her portrait during the nine months of her pregnancy with Lila.
Their sessions lasted from 7:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. three times a week. As Moss later recalled in an interview with Nick Knight for ShowStudio, the artist demanded absolute discipline: even being five minutes late would cause a sharp reaction. The only time she was late, Freud asked sharply: “Are you on drugs?” – to which she calmly replied: “No, I'm pregnant.”
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Their story began after Moss confessed in an interview with i-D that she dreamed of being the heroine of one of his portraits – despite the fact that Freud almost never painted celebrities. This creative union became a defining one for both, and the completed work was sold at Christie's in 2005 for £3.5 million.
Muse for artists
Freud is just one of many who saw Moss as a muse. Allen Jones created a sculptural impression of her using resin and steel, and Mark Quinn created a series of sculptures in complex yogic poses. One of them even serves as a hat stand in her Cotswolds home.
By the way, Moss herself has an unusual souvenir from those sessions – a pair of birds tattooed by Freud on her lower back. “This is the real Freud,” she joked in an interview with Vanity Fair, adding that the artist once tattooed his fellow sailors. “I wonder how much it could cost? A few million? If anything, I’ll do a skin graft and sell it.”
Oscar-winning screenplay
Written by James Lucas, who won an Academy Award for his 2013 short film with Sally Hawkins and Jim Broadbent, Moss & Freud began work on the film in Freud's studio, “where the smell of oil paint still hung in the air.” And of course, he had the full support of the artist's archive.
The film will be released on May 29.