ELLE.COM/UK May 2020every magazine cover offered any more. She doesn’t
haveto.Shehasdonethemall.Stillshewasintriguedatthe
ideaofrevisitingtheclothesthathelpedmakeher–thebaby
pinkVersacejumperthatinthefleshisasteenyandtactileas
apowderpuff;thesugaryChaneltweedjacketandmatching
bra;thegoldlaméshimmerdressthatsheworein2O17on
theVersacerunwaytocommemorateGianniVersace’sdeath.
Mostoftheclothesonthesepagesshepillagedfromher
ownwardrobe–aglorious,temperature-controlledarchive
meticulouslydocumentingdifferentpiecesfromhersupermodel
heyday.No,lifeforClaudiaSchifferrightnowis...exactly
whereshehasalwayswantedit tobe.heassumptionistheSupersrolledalongoncasters
ofconfidence.Andtosomedegreethatistrue.Cindy
bouncedinfrontofthecamerasforherMTVshow,Houseof Style;
Naomineverlookedmoreathomethanwhenshewasona
dancefloorwithMickJaggerandEricClapton.
ButSchiffer’scasewasdifferent.
‘Incomparisontotheothergirls,I wasvery
strangebecauseI wouldn’tspeaktoanyonemuch
whileinthestudio.Everyonewouldbechattingand
goingcrazy.TheyprobablyallthoughtI wasvery
arrogant...andit wasseenascoldnesssometimes,
becausepeopleassumed“She’snotinterested”
or“Shedoesn’twanttocommunicate”.
‘Thenervesbeforea catwalkshowcouldbe
intensesometimes.I enjoyedthemwhentheywere
overandwewereallcelebrating,butbeforeI didnotenjoyit.And
gettingthere,I literallyhadtoconvincemyselftogotoeachone.
It wasa veryfastlearningcurve.SuddenlyI wasthrownintothis
world...I justthought:Closeyoureyesandjumpin.’
Andjumpinshedid,toaworldthatwasaspunishingasit
wasfabulous.
‘Itwasinsane...likebeinglikearockstar.Youcouldn’tget
toyourcarunlessa pathwascarvedforyou.Peoplewouldcut
holesinthefashiontentsandtrytotakepicturesofus.Wehad
securityateveryfashionshow.’Securitywasevenemployedto
guardherunderwear,shetellsme,laughing.‘WhenI wasouton
therunwayI’dcomebackandconstantlymyunderwearwould
begone– mybra,myknickers...gone!’
Thereis a sensewhenyoutalktoClaudiaSchifferthat,where
otherslivedthroughthe199Os,sheworkedherwaythroughthem.
‘I rememberonedaysittingnextto[filmdirector]LucBesson
ona first-classflight.I lovedallofhisfilmsbutallI thoughtwas:Oh
no!MyshynesskickedinandI thought,I’mjustgoingtopretend
tobesleepingthewholetime,soI don’thavetospeaktohim. And
thentherewasMichaelJ Fox.I thoughthewasamazing.I bumped
intohimsomewhereandI couldn’tevensayhello.Heaskedme
toworkwithhimona TVseries,butI saidno.It wastoomuch!’
Theotheropportunitiesshepassedupwerevast,shesays.
‘Peoplenormallyshoweredyouwitheverything,really.Particularly
atChanel.Karl[Lagerfeld]wouldsay,“Godownstairstothe
boutiqueandtakewhateveryouwant.Youcantaketheentire
collection– whatever.”Whereothersmayhavetakenadvantage,
I neverfeltI could.There’sacertainlimitwhensomeonesays,
“Choosewhatyouwant.”Youdon’tliterallychooseeverything”I HAD TO CONVINCE
MYSELF TO GO
to each show.
IT WAS A VERY FAST
LE ARNING
CURVE. SUDDENLY
I was thrown
INTO THIS WORLD”^but then the next generation starts and you hand over. For me, it’s
a natural thing to do... to hand over, to not be envious or jealous.
As a matter of fact, I can’t think of anything worse right now
than if you said, “There’s a magic pill and it’s going to make you
look 2O again.”’
Her life now is full, but less hectic. She is married to film
director Matthew Vaughn and much of their time is spent shuttling
their brood (they have three children, all of whose privacy is
meticulously well kept) between their home in Oxfordshire
and a beautiful Tudor pile buried deep in the folds of Suffolk.
She still works furiously hard, largely behind the scenes and on
creative projects undertaken out of personal interest rather than
to maintain any sort of profile. She is about to launch a collection
of sweatshirts, knitwear and tees with French-inspired brand
Être Cécile and there is a collaboration this year with Portugese
ceramics company Bordallo Pinheiro, inspired by her love
of nature, such as butterflies and clouds. She was also (Trivial
Pursuit question) one of the executive producers
on Rocketman and the Kingsman films.
Granting an interview in her home is a
rare thing, simply because she doesn’t doT
1O4