Issue link: https://www.balharbourdigital.com/i/867968
I n the great supermodel canon, blonde bombshell could only mean one name—Claudia Schiffer. In October, Rizzoli will release the first monograph on the German beauty who continues to cut a striking silhouette wherever she is captured. The London-based mother of three—and the original Guess Jeans girl— takes a pause to speak about transformative beauty, motherhood and the sage advice of Karl Lagerfeld. Considering you had an abundance of material for this amazing book, what was the process you used to select images? It was really tough to edit. You're right that there were so many images to choose from. Along with my team, I personally chose every single image featured from the past 30 years by making lots of Pinterest moodboards and then editing down the number of images we included. There was only one image that I really wanted to include that didn't make it, which was a Versace ad with Sylvester Stallone from 1995. Why did you choose Ellen von Unwerth to write your foreword? Ellen was the first person who I worked on a major shoot with and she really made the first major impact on my career so it makes sense that she should be the first voice in the book. She was a model before she became a photographer, so she knew how to get the most out of me. The shoots we did together were very quirky; you couldn't just flip past them in a magazine, so they got us both noticed. That's where Paul Marciano from Guess saw us and the rest is history. In the book you shared that you had the reputation of being cold, although it was a defense mechanism for being shy. What helped you to relax during your shoots? I found my confidence on set once the make-up was applied. The more make-up they would put on me, the more outrageous, sexy or silly I felt I could be. You've described yourself as an ugly duckling. When did you start to embrace your beauty? I don't think that anyone ever wakes up and thinks, 'I'm so beautiful,' but over time I became more comfortable in my own skin and came to terms with the fact that people looking at me is a part of my job. When you think about the 'ugly duckling' it sounds so cliché, but that is actually a very accurate description. I was much taller than all of the other girls, really skinny, knocked knees—I didn't know that as a model these are all traits that wouldn't hold you back, but at school it's not what makes you one of the popular girls. Despite all this, I still made the most of the opportunities that came my way, and I feel very thankful for having been able to do that. What advice would you give a younger you? I was always very ambitious and competitive, so I might tell her to relax a little and have even more fun. Who were your mentors when you were first starting out in the industry and finding your way? Ellen von Unwerth was definitely a mentor to me in the early days, and Karl Lagerfeld. There have been so many designers and photographers, editors and make-up artists who have had a huge influence on me: Dolce and Gabbana, Donatella Versace, Steven Klein, Herb Ritts, Anna Wintour, Valentino Garavani and many more. What do you do to make time for yourself? I think most parents would BLONDIE Supermodel Claudia Schiffer reflects on three decades as model and muse with Contributing Fashion Director Sarah Gore Reeves. 196 BAL HARBOUR