GOLDEN YEARS
As she launches her new book, Claudia Schiffer recalls the music, fashion, thrills and glamour of the Nineties
At shows, it was insane: like being a rock star, to the extent that security was even employed to guard my underwear, which was constantly disappearing while I was on the runway. My very first show was for Karl [Lagerfeld] at Chanel. It was the pivotal moment in my career, and transformed me from a shy teenager into a supermodel. Then there were the Versace shows, when we’d walk to a Prince track, with hundreds of photographers lining the catwalk and Gianni [Versace) sitting there on the front row.
I grew up with a lot of Eighties pop music, like Nena’s ‘99 Luftballons’, Pet Shop Boys, George Michael and Elton John, and I worked to their music on photo-shoots. My favourites – Elton’s ‘Rocket Man’, ‘Tiny Dancer’ and ‘Your Song’ – are timeless.
The book is dedicated to the late Stella
Tennant, who I will remember for her elegance and plucky character. Her rise was meteoric – she became the face of Chanel in 1996 and spearheaded a new era of individualistic models. Stella was the perfect name for a quintessentially British, beautiful star. She shone brightly, and will be missed.
Of course, previous eras had famous models – Lauren Hutton, Twiggy, Penelope Tree and Iman to name a few – but as supermodels, we became symbols of a self-made success, in an era that championed female ambition and that was also fuelled by sex.
In the Nineties, there was also a merging of fields across fashion, music, art and entertainment, and that made the era dynamic and exciting. It was a watershed decade in which the impossible became possible. ‘Captivate!’ by Claudia Schiffer (£49.99,
Prestel) is published on 19 October.