Fashion industry insiders told The New York Sun that they were not terribly shocked to learn that Kate Moss, the model who epitomized “heroin chic” in the early 1990s, was photographed doing lines of cocaine. What surprised them was that she got caught in the act.

Drug abuse has long played a part in the fashion world, but with the spread of camera phones and the rising fierceness of paparazzi photography, it’s become harder to keep secrets from the world. Meanwhile, as the fashion world becomes more corporate, the wild-child culture that prevailed a decade ago is no longer condoned.

“It would be naive to think it’s rare,” said Paulo Filgueiras, a fashion photographer. “It’s not fair that somebody who is in the highlight of society will get caught having a hit of cocaine and everybody will make this an amazing to-do, like this is not known to society. It is known, come on, things go around. She’s one of the most amazing models of our generation.”

While many of her colleagues are rallying to support the 31-year-old, not everyone is so forgiving of Ms. Moss. She has come under criminal inquiry by Scotland Yard, who will be interviewing her about her cocaine-snorting session with her rock-star boyfriend Pete Doherty, formerly of the band the Libertines, who was with her during the binge. The police have said they are interested in learning if Mr. Doherty helped her obtain the drugs. It was reported that Ms. Moss has severed her relationship with Mr. Doherty, who allegedly since went on a rampage at a concert in Ibiza, Spain.

Burberry and Chanel both announced yesterday that they have pulled their campaign contracts with her, a day after the Swedish company H&M canceled its $3.6 million contract with the model. The campaign was for H&M’s November collection designed by Stella McCartney.

The company originally decided not to cancel its contract with Ms. Moss after she met last week with H&M’s director of communications and marketing, Jorgen Andersson, to apologize and admit to doing drugs. But over the weekend the company’s stores were flooded with calls of protest, and the corporation gave in to public sentiment and broke off the deal.

Ms. Moss was never the poster child for healthy living. She was an English teenager with a boyish figure and vacant, slightly amoral expression who rose from obscurity to infamy in the early 1990s when she started dating – and trashing hotel rooms with – the actor Johnny Depp. Feminists took umbrage at the glamorization of an emaciated waif-child, and blamed her for anorexia among teenage girls. Her earnings are now estimated at $9 million a year.

While the general public seems to feel betrayed by Ms. Moss, those who possess a familiarity with the industry say it’s a shame she alone has to bear the burden of blame.

“It was a combination of bad luck and stupidity,” said Gina Nanni, a partner with Company Agenda, a publicity firm that has several fashion clients. “I do feel bad for her.

Drug use has been historically rampant in the fashion business and everybody has skeletons in their closet. People have to be a lot more careful than ever because a lot more is at stake. Today there’s a lot of money to be made trying to ruin somebody’s career, and it’s easier today with digital cameras and the Internet.”

Some people aren’t just forgiving of Ms. Moss – they’re inspired by her recent travails. Michael Flutie, a talent and brand manager and consultant who ran the Company modeling agency in the 1990s, said the Moss scandal marks a turning point in the industry. While drugs have always been prevalent, they didn’t use to be addressed head-on. “We’re making tremendous progress by mere fact we’re no longer living in denial,” he said. He used to represent Amy Wesson, who battled a drug addiction throughout her career. “Everyone knew it but they closed their eyes to it,” he said. “I think we’ve come a long way because five years ago the world was in denial, and now we get Kate Moss getting caught and she says, ‘Mea culpa. I’m sorry.’ We live in a world in which we forgive and we grow. I’m acknowledging her heroism because I think it’s fantastic she stood up and said, ‘Yes, I did it.'”

Dr. Tom Brady, chief medical officer of CRC Health Group, a network of more than 80 drug rehabilitation centers across the nation, said about 10% of Americans have substance abuse problems. He said the percentage is probably slightly higher in the fashion world.

He listed several factors that would make it more likely for a model to develop a drug habit than somebody with a nine-to-five job.

Models are under a great deal of stress to stay thin and beat out other girls for jobs. They’re highly paid so they have access to expensive substances. And they can set up their schedules to allow for several-day-long binges. “Being a superstar has a lot to do with getting away with it,” he said. “There are a lot of people who use under-the-radar substances and they get away with it because they’re superstars. They’re not working at the post office. They can arrange their schedules around a little bender.”

When writer and editor Chris Lorentzen was recently dragged to a Fashion Week party at a downtown Chinese restaurant, he walked to the back of the room to smoke a cigarette. “I was feeling melancholy and nervous,” he said. Before long a female model and her flamboyant male friend approached him and asked if he would mind if they did drugs behind him. He said he shrugged and said, “If you want.” After a minute, the girl said to her friend, “Maybe we shouldn’t do this out here.” Mr. Lorentzen said he turned around and said, “She’s got a point.”

The pair went to the bathroom.