Claudia Schiffer: 'I would never want to be in my 20s again'
March 18th 2010 07:33
She may be turning 40 this year but don’t expect supermodel Claudia Schiffer to be retiring from the world of fashion anytime soon. “I really enjoy my work. I’m not going to be happy when it stops!” the svelte German-born blonde told Vogue magazine. While her catwalk days are a thing of the past, Schiffer’s photo shoot opportunities are still flowing in: she’s currently the face of Alberta Ferretti’s new fragrance and last year did campaigns for Salvatore Ferragamo, Yves Saint Laurent and made an appearance in the documentary Valentino. When you consider that most models are history by the time they turn 25, it’s not a bad effort from the girl who was once so shy that she thought that the model scout had chosen her by mistake!
“It’s weird that I’m doing this job,” she says. “It’s really more for people who love attention. In the studio, I hated being the centre of attention with the whole team staring, and I would always blush. I thought: ‘They’re going to realize they’ve made a mistake and send me back!’” she recalls, laughing.
While she has become accustomed to being in the spotlight, she admits that her shyness has stayed with her through adulthood. “I’m still shy,” she confides. “I believe it never goes away, but I’ve learned to cope with it. I would never want to be in my 20s again; being very shy is quite a painful experience. Now I feel better about myself and how I am with people.”
With a career that has spanned three decades, Schiffer has noticed significant changes in both the fashion world, and the modeling industry, since she signed her first major contract with Guess in the early 1990s. Back then, she says, many things were different. “The business was less commercial. Fashion shows were like rock concerts,” she says.
“I’d come off the runway and Chanel would provide me with five bodyguards to get to my car. Fashion trips used to go for two weeks. Of course, with digital [photography] today it’s much faster. Money is business and time is money.”
She also fondly remembers being one of the elite supermodels of the 1990s, back when the word ‘supermodel’ held connotations of true power, fame and status. “There was camaraderie, as well as competition,” she remembers of her supermodel posse (which also included the likes of Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, and Naomi Campbell). “When this [supermodel] label was given by the press it felt very odd… it’s only much later that you understand how it stood for a period in the 90s when something special happened.”
These days, Claudia’s main priorities are her children – Caspar, six, and Clementine, five – and her husband, film producer Matthew Vaughn. She's currently pregnant with her third child as well. By creating and maintaining a good work/life balance, she’s been able to enjoy the time she spends modeling, while making the most of the precious time she has with her family. “I try not to travel too much,” she says, preferring her London base, or her farm in the English countryside. “I’m in a very good position: I can choose what I want to do and that leaves the rest of the time to be with them.”
As for the, hehe, age-old question of ageing? Schiffer’s philosophy is simple: just accept it, and stick with women who are in the same age group as you. “Everyone is getting old: there’s nothing you can do about it,” Claudia says wisely. “If you surround yourself with girlfriends who are the same age then you all age the same and it feels completely natural.”
39 and looking fine!
“It’s weird that I’m doing this job,” she says. “It’s really more for people who love attention. In the studio, I hated being the centre of attention with the whole team staring, and I would always blush. I thought: ‘They’re going to realize they’ve made a mistake and send me back!’” she recalls, laughing.
While she has become accustomed to being in the spotlight, she admits that her shyness has stayed with her through adulthood. “I’m still shy,” she confides. “I believe it never goes away, but I’ve learned to cope with it. I would never want to be in my 20s again; being very shy is quite a painful experience. Now I feel better about myself and how I am with people.”
In 1990, age 20
One of the images from Claudia's early 1990s Guess jeans campaign
Her most recent campaign for Alberta Ferretti
With a career that has spanned three decades, Schiffer has noticed significant changes in both the fashion world, and the modeling industry, since she signed her first major contract with Guess in the early 1990s. Back then, she says, many things were different. “The business was less commercial. Fashion shows were like rock concerts,” she says.
“I’d come off the runway and Chanel would provide me with five bodyguards to get to my car. Fashion trips used to go for two weeks. Of course, with digital [photography] today it’s much faster. Money is business and time is money.”
On the catwalk for Chanel, mid-1990s
One of her Vogue covers, this one from 1992
She also fondly remembers being one of the elite supermodels of the 1990s, back when the word ‘supermodel’ held connotations of true power, fame and status. “There was camaraderie, as well as competition,” she remembers of her supermodel posse (which also included the likes of Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, and Naomi Campbell). “When this [supermodel] label was given by the press it felt very odd… it’s only much later that you understand how it stood for a period in the 90s when something special happened.”
Claudia with fellow 1990s supermodels Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Stephanie Seymour, Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington, in a 2008 photo shoot for Vanity Fair
These days, Claudia’s main priorities are her children – Caspar, six, and Clementine, five – and her husband, film producer Matthew Vaughn. She's currently pregnant with her third child as well. By creating and maintaining a good work/life balance, she’s been able to enjoy the time she spends modeling, while making the most of the precious time she has with her family. “I try not to travel too much,” she says, preferring her London base, or her farm in the English countryside. “I’m in a very good position: I can choose what I want to do and that leaves the rest of the time to be with them.”
With daughter Clementine in 2008
With husband Matthew Vaughn
Out and about in London, in early 2010
As for the, hehe, age-old question of ageing? Schiffer’s philosophy is simple: just accept it, and stick with women who are in the same age group as you. “Everyone is getting old: there’s nothing you can do about it,” Claudia says wisely. “If you surround yourself with girlfriends who are the same age then you all age the same and it feels completely natural.”
| 54 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
subscribe to this blog