SKANKY BOYFRIEND aside, Kate Moss is a woman who seemingly has it all: good looks; a top flight modelling career; style icon status and, of course, pots of cash.

Tomorrow, her CV could boast a new addition: leading fashion designer. After months of anticipation, Moss's first capsule collection for Topshop will arrive on the shelves in the high street retailer's flagship store in London's Oxford Circus. It has been reported that Moss will pose in the shop's window at 7.30pm tomorrow to launch the collection.

The following day, the clothes will be available in every branch of Topshop across the UK.

In a way, the pairing of Moss and Topshop was perhaps inevitable. Topshop outlets are already piled high with garments that emulate Moss's signature look of skinny jeans, waistcoats, tight vests and hotpants. The difference now is that Philip Green, the billionaire boss of Topshop's parent group Arcadia, has won Moss's official seal of approval instead of simply stealing her style.

So far, so sensible. But the hottest collaboration in fashion has already sparked a backlash in the American press - the New York Post said it "looks like Kate copying a lot of other people's stuff worn by Kate" - and in the UK poor publicity about Moss's relationship with Pete Doherty has tarnished the supermodel's image.

Meanwhile, with celebrity-led collections dominating the high street - popstrel Lily Allen has a new range coming out next month for New Look, while Madonna has already created a line for H&M - the fashion designers whose jobs are under threat are fighting back.

Last week, veteran designer Jeff Banks questioned the amount of creative input that Moss has had into her 90-piece collection - by her own admission it is based on items from her wardrobe rather than totally fresh, new ideas.

"I'm not against celebrity endorsement," he said, "but to claim the product has actually been designed by the celeb beggars belief."

So will the style queen who is regularly voted one of the world's best dressed women find loyal new subjects on the high street? Or is Moss's fashion crown slipping at long last?

Malcolm Burkinshaw, a fashion tutor at the Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) who has also designed for Benetton in Italy, thinks Moss's Topshop collection will backfire on the Croydon supermodel.

"I have seen the Kate Moss range and I think it looks very cheap," he said. "I don't understand why she has chosen to do the collection because this woman has been known as a style icon for years and I don't think she's going to be a style icon after this because everyone's going to look like her.

"The thing is, now it has become so achievable to look like Kate Moss, what is there to dream of for people? Clothes aren't special any more because everything is so widely and cheaply available. But looking at the Kate Moss range, every item is a copy of a piece from her wardrobe or a version of it, which isn't design, it's rip-off. The lowest ends of fashion do this."

Designer Yong Hei Fong studied at ECA and worked for Topshop when he was a student at Central St Martin's College in London. But Fong, who now has his own label, believes the trend for celebrity ranges could put young designers out of business.

"Celebrity fashion lines take jobs away from graduate students who should be designing instead," he said.

"It's so hard to start up your own label and the celebrities aren't designing, they are collaborating."

He added: "I don't think the celebrities understand about design and quality. The company puts their name out there and it's hype to say that the celebrities have designed the clothes."

Yet many fashion editors are resounding in their support for the Moss collection, arguing that although she may not be a "proper" designer with the ability to draw sketches of clothes, her authenticity comes from her unrivalled reputation as a global style icon.

"I don't understand why it's a criticism that the clothes are like hers because people would be disappointed if they didn't look like clothes which come from her wardrobe," said Ellie Crompton, style editor of celebrity magazine Heat, which includes a regular feature called "Steal her Style".

"I think you have to take celebrity fashion lines as a bit of fun because celebrities capture people's imaginations and it's a great way of tapping into your favourite celebrity's style by buying from their collection.

"It's not as if these ranges are going to be rubbishly made, they've been worked on by a team of highly-qualified designers. Even if celebrities haven't sat down and drawn all the sketches for themselves, they will still have been heavily involved and that is evident from the collections - it's very much their style."

Sarah Clark, fashion editor of Glamour magazine, agrees. "Although I can understand the argument that it is copycat fashion, I think it's different with Kate because she's not a celebrity as such, she's a model first and works within the industry," she said. "She has the most incredible sense of style. I can't think of another celebrity who comes close to her in that way. If you walk about the high street, girls are trying to dress like her already.

"It's about fulfilling demand. Whether some want to admit it or not, everyone wants to look like Kate - she's beautiful, cool and has amazing personal style.

"A lot of the pieces are based on things that she actually had in her wardrobe and you are literally able to buy into some piece of Kate's wardrobe in some small way, so I think that is particularly clever of Topshop."

According to industry insiders, the key to creating a successful celebrity capsule collection is choosing the correct famous face. For those who get it right the rewards are high: the lucrative fashion market is worth approximately £10 billion to the UK.

Fiona Moriarty, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: "The key thing for the retailer is to find the right face which represents their business and which they believe is going to generate a lot of interest and footfall into the store.

"If you get it right and choose the correct celebrity endorsing the right line at the right price point and it fits comfortably within the overall trading ethos of a particular retailer, then the amount of interest through the trade, national press and people getting excited about it is worth it alone."

But Melanie Rickey, fashion features editor of Grazia, the UK's biggest-selling glossy magazine, thinks that high street celebrity collaborations may already be past their sell-by date.

"I know Kate's line is going to be successful, but when Madonna's line at H&M launched nobody was even queuing up," she said.

"And I do think the high street is doing too many celebrity collaborations - it's overkill. I have celebrity fashion line fatigue because people are signing up to any old thing."

However, the retailers - as one might expect - don't buy into these criticisms. While it was reported that only 20 customers queued at H&M's Oxford Circus branch in London to get their hands on Madonna's collection compared with the massive crowd that mobbed the store's launch of a line by Stella McCartney last year, H&M insists the ranges aren't comparable.

It points out that McCartney - now one of the world's leading designers - created a one-off collection with a limited range, whereas the Madonna line is being featured in all 116 of its stores with repeat stock available.

Topshop, which rushed to defend Kate Moss in the aftermath of Banks's comments last week, told the Sunday Herald: "Kate Moss's style is effortless. She continues to evolve and develop new looks that then inspire trends both on the street, high street and indeed, the catwalk.

"There will always be people that have different points of view, however we are very pleased with this collection and are confident it will go from strength to strength."

Moriarty believes the retailers are in a win-win situation, even when the publicity turns sour. "You need to generate an interest in retail and get people through the door, and celebrity lines do that," she said.

With the impending summer season bringing opportunities for even more celebrity designs - Kylie Minogue has a swimwear range coming out with H&M and Kelly Brook is launching her second bikini collection for New Look - the high street's love-in with the stars continues apace.

However, the ECA's Burkinshaw is desperate for the bubble to burst, so that the UK can retain its reputation for innovative and unique fashion design.

He said: "There are so many mass-produced clothes out there at the moment and I'm desperate to see something that is made exquisitely or is beautiful.

"I know so many people who have tried to do their own label, but have no asset but real talent. There are so many with the ability who haven't been able to succeed because they aren't a celebrity or been able to get the money or the connections.

"These clothes from Kate Moss's Topshop collection will fly off the shelves, but for people such as myself who have gone through the art school system, have been designers or worked on labels and now lecture, we know how difficult it is to be a designer. It's a very easy route for her."