London (CNN) -- Last night Britain's fashion elite gathered at the London Coliseum for the 2013 British Fashion Awards. Nominees for the prestigious industry awards included models Cara Delevingne and Edie Campbell, and designers Anya Hindmarch and Sarah Burton. 

Trends may come and go, but even among this fashion-conscious crowd there was one certainty: all eyes would be on Kate Moss. 

The British Fashion Council honored the 39-year-old model with a Special Recognition Award for her 25 years in the industry. 

During her glittering career she has appeared on 34 covers of British Vogue. She's fronted campaigns for Burberry and Chanel. And she's remained one of the world's best-paid models, even as twenty-somethings like Hilary Rhoda, Lara Stone and Joan Smalls have stomped onto the catwalk. 

Despite all of those achievements, Moss seemed starstruck as she accepted her trophy from Marc Jacobs. "Oh my god. It's so weird, very very surreal," she said on stage. "Thank you everyone who has worked with and kept booking me. I am really very grateful." 

Born to a barmaid and a travel agent in Croydon, south London, modeling was not an obvious career move. But in 1988 Sarah Doukas, the founder of Storm Model Management, spotted Moss at New York's JFK Airport, where Moss was catching a connecting flight home after a family holiday to the Bahamas. 

Watch: Where have all the black models gone? 

Standing just 5'7, her waifish look contrasted sharply with the likes of Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford, two of the leggy Glamazons who dominated the runways at the time. 
Where was it held?
 Last night Britain's fashion elite gathered at the London Coliseum