Ummm, do y'all remember when Kate Moss was a publicity-shy, notoriously aloof model who rarely showed up at promotional events, let alone put herself at the center of them, in costume with an ear-to-ear grin to match?

Well, look how times have changed. To mark Virgin Atlantic's 25th birthday, Moss rocked up to the wing of a Virgin jumbo jet, dressed in a red romper and Yves Saint Laurent Tribute heels -- a successful imitation of the pin-up girls who grace VA's aircrafts -- and leaped into Sir Richard Branson's arms before an adoring crowd. (Thank goodness he caught her. Those are some serious heels.)

But wait! The cheese continued, as Branson (in his captain-for-a-day outfit) posed with Moss and his kids, the four smiling for the cameras, Branson waving his captain hat in the air.

Branson pulled a similar stunt four years ago to celebrate the 21st birthday of VA, only it was with Pamela Anderson, someone we'd expect to lap this sort of thing up. But Moss? I thought this kind of pre-planned, media-friendly fun was her worst nightmare.

But since the launch of her Kate Moss collection for best buddy Sir Philip Green's massive Topshop chain (the two were smiling, arm-in-arm for the crowds at the NYC opening), Moss has gotten increasingly cozy with the media, agreeing to be interviewed for a number of publications -- most memorably, for her New York Magazine profile -- co-chairing the Costume Institute Gala, and showing up, speaking and sometimes even singing(!) at splashy fundraisers.

Her reasons for doing so? About those, Moss remains frustratingly tight-lipped.