LONDON: Cocaine abuse is rife at London Fashion Week. An Evening Standard investigation found traces of the class A drug in lavatories at parties thrown for some of the industry’s biggest names after the catwalk shows.

The findings come after a week in which the fashion world was rocked by pictures of Kate Moss taking the drug.

She was sacked as the £1mn-a-year face of H&M in the wake of the revelations about her use of the drug with boyfriend Pete Doherty.

The Standard tests, using swabs to take samples from six lavatories at four of the week’s most prestigious parties, were all positive.

The samples were analysed by Scientifics, a Home Office licensed forensic laboratory which specialises in identifying traces of drugs and which is used by police, the prison service and criminal lawyers.

The samples which tested positive included swabs from parties thrown by some of fashion’s biggest names and attended by stars including Mariah Carey, England cricketer Kevin Pietersen, Joan Collins and Bob Geldof. There is no suggestion any of them took the drug.

Swabs taken from after-show parties given by Versace and designer Alexander McQueen proved positive, as did a sample from a particularly lavish party to celebrate Topshop’s catwalk show given by the company’s billionaire owner Philip Green at members’club Home House.

There were traces of the drug found at a party to raise awareness of Aids presided over by supermodel Linda Evangelista.

Forensic expert Adam Booker, who analysed the samples, said: “There is absolutely no doubt, all of these samples contain traces of cocaine.”

Many in the fashion world have sought to distance themselves from the Moss scandal and insisted it was an isolated case. But these findings prove that far from being a one-off, drug abuse in the fashion industry is more prevalent than ever. – London Evening Standard