Claudia Schiffer has said that at the height of her fame she needed security to guard her underwear.
The catwalk star said being one of the original “supermodels” in the 1990s, along with Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Tatjana Patitz and Christy Turlington, was “insane” and “like being like a rock star”.
She added: “You couldn’t get to your car unless a path was carved for you. People would cut holes in the fashion tents and try to take pictures of us. We had security at every fashion show.”
Schiffer said it even became necessary for security to be employed to guard her underwear.
She told Elle UK magazine: “When I was out on the runway I’d come back and constantly my underwear would be gone – my bra, my knickers … gone!”
At the height of their fame, Campbell, Evangelista, Turlington, Crawford and Patitz all starred in George Michael’s Freedom music video, but Schiffer was a conspicuous absence.
She said: “Oh, the George Michael video where everyone participated … I was working with a lot of high-end brands at that time and I just thought ‘that doesn’t fit with the strategy right now’.
“It (missing the opportunity to be in the video) was stupid.”
However, she added she has no concerns about ageing now she is 49, saying: “I’ve had many wonderful compliments in my time. But then you get to the next stage and you move on.
“You don’t have to be called (beautiful) your entire life. It’s a nice memory, 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 20 again’.”
– The May issue of Elle UK is on sale from April 2.