Moss and pals help scandal-hit Testino stage his comeback

SOME prominent figures caught up in # MeToo scandals have disappeared from public view, but royal favourite Mario Testino is staging a comeback, with the aid of his famous friends.

The photographer, who captured some of the most memorable images of Princess Diana, was accused of sexual assault by 18 different male models and assistants last year.

Yesterday, however, Dame Joan Collins shared this photograph of her and Testino with his loyal friend Kate Moss in the South of France.

‘Mario and Kate together again,’ the former Dynasty star wrote next to the picture, which she shared with her fans online.

It is the first time that Testino, 64, has appeared in public since the allegations, which he strenuously denies.

His reunion with Moss comes just a week after I revealed that Testino had embarked on his first highprofile project — photographing the world’s richest artist, Damien Hirst, who had turned his model girlfriend, Sophie Cannell, into an exhibit by painting her naked body with multi-coloured polka dots.

Another sign that Testino — who shot more than 60 covers of British Vogue and photographed the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge — is being welcomed back into the fashion fold is that he and Hirst

collaborated on the project with top fashion director Sarajane Hoare, who works with Conde Nast titles Vogue and Vanity Fair.

At the time of the scandal, Conde Nast announced that it would ‘not be commissioning any new work’ from Testino for the foreseeable future.

His comeback will continue in November when he stages an exhibition on Japan at Hamiltons Gallery in Mayfair.

Moss, who smiles brightly with Testino in the snap, is well positioned to offer him comeback advice. She successfully rebranded herself after being caught snorting what was claimed to be cocaine in a West London recording studio in 2005, prompting designer labels Burberry, Chanel and H&M to sever contracts worth millions.

However, just 12 months after the scandal, Moss signed 18 contracts with brands including Rimmel, Agent Provocateur, Calvin Klein and Burberry. That same year, she was also crowned ‘model of the year’ at the British Fashion Awards.

Testino’s spokesman tells me he has been working on philanthropic projects such as children’s playground projects in his native Peru.