Moss-mania breaks out with model's new range

By Mike Collett-White

LONDON (Reuters) - Hundreds of Kate Moss fans queued on Monday for an early taste of the British supermodel's first foray into fashion design at the launch of her eagerly awaited new range.

The 33-year-old, who has inspired fashion trends from skinny jeans to sawn-off shorts, was at retailer Topshop's central London flagship store wearing one of her new creations -- a long red dress costing 195 pounds ($390).

She was chaperoned around a small area of the store dedicated to her collection by Topshop owner and billionaire Philip Green, who is paying Moss three million pounds to put some celebrity panache into his business.

The range, consisting of about 50 pieces including tight jeans, waistcoats and hotpants, went on sale at one store late on Monday ahead of the nationwide opening on Tuesday.

During the next two weeks, the collection will launch in another 21 countries, including at upmarket U.S. store Barney's.

Green was cautious about prospects for the range.

"Let's see how it looks and get a couple of days under our belt," he told Reuters, as dozens of shoppers busily hunted for bargains behind him.

Keen to avoid chaotic scenes that have marred other retail launches, the queue of mainly teenaged girls and young women was allowed in only in small groups, given 20 minutes in the shop and limited to five items.