Kate Moss opens Topshop USA as Philip Green takes on New York

Seven months late, Sir Philip Green finally opened his first American branch of Topshop on Thursday. The avalanche of hype, culminating in a star-studded party at the Balthazar bistro, had the desired effect - a queue of young New Yorkers round the block, eager to be the first into the Broadway store.

After a countdown led by television presenter June Sarpong, a screen lifted to reveal supermodel Kate Moss, in a floor-length emerald green dress and black leather jacket, sharing a podium with Green. Blue and red confetti rained down while Moss posed for photos. But seconds later she was gone - her "contractually-obligated nanosecond up" as one snarky US commentator put it - and the doors opened.

Moss's latest line for Topshop - her ninth since she was invited by Green in 2007 to design for him - was central to the Broadway store's opening. But while the new line was reported to be sold out in a matter of minutes in London, the items took a lot longer to shift in New York, raising early questions about Topshop's relatively high prices and the difference between American and British street style.

A Village Voice reporter, seeking to explain the unsold Moss items, wrote: "Perhaps it was the high prices (a grey suede jacket is $310), or the fact that some of it looked like a suburban housewife's idea of cool (a short floral quilted coat? Really?)."

Management Today took a more upbeat approach. "Taking on one of the hardest retail markets in the world, in the teeth of the worst recession for years, is classic Green," it reported. "The fact that so many other successful British retailers have struggled in the States will only make him more determined to succeed. But it's a massive chance to be taking in the current climate, even so."

And as the Guardian reported today, the omens are not brilliant: the Broadway store is sandwiched between a boarded-up shop and a branch of cash-strapped Citibank. But Green, typically bullish, said: "Where are the people walking around nude? People are still wearing clothes. They want to be inspired. They still want to shop. Get real." ·