Unlike some people who need to be told how good they look naked long past the point where they look good naked, Claudia Schiffer is looking forward to not being a sex symbol anymore, telling Elle she’s ready to move on.
‘I’ve had many wonderful compliments in my time,’ she says. ‘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.”’
And it makes sense. You don’t want to be 75 and worried about people wanting to see you naked. You have other things to worry about when you get naked at 75, like not tripping over your breasts and/or testicles.
The fact that Schiffer’s panties were constantly being stolen when she was a sex symbol probably adds to the desire to gracefully fade from the public eye.
‘It was insane… like being like a rock star. 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.’ Security was even employed to guard her underwear, she tells me, laughing. ‘When I was out on the runway I’d come back and constantly my underwear would be gone – my bra, my knickers… gone!’
That’s quite the souvenir. My guess is people were picking them up and wandering off going “how the f**k did David Copperfield manage to get into these?”
Schiffer still models, but she mostly works behind the scenes now. She seems happier. She has three kids and a husband who isn’t David Copperfield. She’s really living the dream.