By Asia Milia Ware, a writer for the Cut who covers fashion and beauty. She also writes the column “Why Is Your Skin So Good.” She has covered fashion and beauty for seven years with bylines in InStyle, Teen Vogue, Paper, and Essence. 
Photo: ARNEL DELA GENTE / WWW.PRIMEEXPOSUREIMAGE.COM/Courtesy of Marine Serre
Kate Moss walked Marine Serre this morning in Paris … or did she? Countless posts went up alleging that the ’90s supermodel — who only comes out of retirement when she’s alongside her daughter, Lila Moss, for events like Vogue World or collaboration shows such as Fendace in 2021 — was doing just that. Seemed a bit odd given that Marine Serre is a relatively small brand and Moss has never worn its clothes or walked its shows.
Psych! The model who walked the runway at Marine Serre today was not Kate Moss, it was Denise Ohnona, who dubs herself “World’s No. 1 Kate Moss Look-alike.” Ohnona’s tousled blonde hair and dark roots, edgy black eyeliner, and chiseled jawline are just a few of her traits that make her look exactly like Moss. Even her Instagram handle is @iamnotkatemoss.
This isn’t the first time a doppelgänger has been used. Dalton Dubois, who people call Bella Hadid’s doppelgänger, walked Diesel and Burberry. But unlike in this case, Dubois is someone who simply resembles Hadid and doesn’t make her whole personality about her doppelgänger.
Ohnona, on the other hand, looks so identical to Moss that publications were reporting on Moss walking the show, and Ohnona capitalizes on the resemblance. “Kate Moss, 50, showcases her ageless good looks as she storms runway,” the Daily Mail wrote in a now-removed story that’s still on Ohnona’s Instagram Story highlights. The Marine Serre look was very Moss-coded: a crisp button-down, oversize leather jacket, and boots to match, which seemed to be intentional.
This isn’t Ohnona’s first rodeo cosplaying as Moss — in fact, being her doppelgänger seems like her brand. Multiple videos on her Instagram feed feature her replicating past campaigns Moss took part in, what she calls “Repli-Kate.” The link in her Instagram bio is also a U.K. look-alike agency website with a roster of models who are doppelgängers of supermodels, celebrities, and personalities. Included on the site are Audrey Hepburn, Courteney Cox, Kelly Rowland, and even Barbie look-alikes. Perhaps Marine Serre wanted to book Moss but she wasn’t available so it resorted to this agency, or maybe the label simply didn’t have the budget, although it did book supermodel Winnie Harlow for the show. So why not just pay for the real thing a.k.a. Ms. Moss? Feels like a publicity stunt, but hey, to each Moss their own.
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