As one of the original and most in-demand supermodels of all time, Claudia Schiffer has always been known as much for her professionalism as her beauty. Having shot to fame with the iconic 90s Guess campaign shoot, by the age of 21 she was the world’s highest paid model, fronting major, multi-million initiatives and walking the runways for leading fashion brands such as Versace, Chanel, Chloé, Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior, Fendi, Ralph Lauren and Louis Vuitton.
Still luminous at 54, it’s no surprise that the indefatigable superstar has forged yet another successful career as a businesswoman. Her entrepreneurism has led her to diverse projects including designing ceramic and porcelain dinnerware collections with Vista Alegre and Bordallo Pinheiro. Her second and most recent collaboration has been named after her late mother, Gudrun, who raised her in Rheinberg, a small town near Dusseldorf.
Claudia has been a devoted mother to her own three children, Casper, 21, Clementine, 19 and 14-year-old Cosima with film director Matthew Vaughn, her husband of 23 years. They live at Coldham Hall, the beautiful Tudor manor house in Suffolk where these pictures were taken and where the family will be celebrating Christmas and hosting their annual New Year’s Eve party for friends.
"I strive to be my best self at every age, but I feel more confident than ever now, more aware of my priorities and more mindful that life is not forever."
These photos of your new ceramic and porcelain collections were taken in your home – how long have you lived there?
Matthew and I bought our Suffolk home, Coldham Hall, which is Elizabethan, just before we got married 23 years ago and it’s where we held our wedding. It has been a home full of memories from the very beginning. It’s a Tudor manor house set amid fields and farmland. I love the calmness of being surrounded by nature and wildlife. We also share it with four dogs, two cats, chickens, tortoises and a few friendly ghosts.
How would you describe the decor?
I’m fascinated by art, design and interiors and I’ve adopted a modern take on country style. I’ve brought in light and dark oak furniture, lots of reds and pinks, as well as patterned wallpaper, all juxtaposed with modern art. The house is a nest of cosiness where you can get lost enjoying the warmth of a fireplace, both in winter and a cool summer.
How will you be spending Christmas this year?
We’re always at home in Suffolk for Christmas. We embrace German traditions like St. Martin and St. Nicholas. When the kids were little, St. Nicholas used to visit in person, reading from his book to see if they’d been good enough to deserve a present. Then on December 5th, the children put out their shoes at night, hoping they’ll be filled with Christmas sweets, clementines, and nuts! Now that mine are grown, I still continue the tradition, mainly to enjoy the special German Christmas candies you can’t find in England. I also decorate the tree with carved wooden ornaments from my childhood. I grew up with real candles, lit on the Christmas tree!
I love hosting parties and the way it brings friends together. Most years we have a Christmas cocktail party, as well as an annual New Year’s Eve party for all our close friends and family. It’s always themed and a great way to end the year; everyone in their costumes, all ages coming together. Last year our theme was Studio 54, but my favourite is Oktoberfest. It’s hilarious seeing all my non-German friends wear Lederhosen and Dirndls. I wish I could wear a dirndl every day!
What are your luxuries in life?
Besides enjoying time for myself, I love drinking red wine in front of the fireplace with Matthew - Sassicaia and Ornellaia are my favourites. Or it could be an evening out together at one of our favourite restaurants like Nobu, Park Lane or La Petit Maison, which has a great atmosphere and amazing simple dishes to share like truffle scrambled eggs. In terms of possessions, it would be contemporary art. I buy with my heart not my head, rather like an instant crush on something I can’t live without! That's how I felt about "Wave Art" by Raymond Pettibon and Damian Hirst’s “Spot Painting”. My favourite piece though is called “Marry me” by Ed Ruscha, which my husband had commissioned and is how he proposed to me.
What are your Christmas luxuries?
Christmas is a time of indulgence for us, with a feast that lasts from breakfast to late-night snacks. On Christmas Eve, we typically enjoy a crispy goose with gravy, potato dumplings, brussels sprouts, cauliflower cheese, and desserts like tiramisu, glazed marble cake, and Tarte Tatin. On the 25th, it’s turkey and ham with all the trimmings, followed by desserts such as bread-and-butter pudding or freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.
When it comes to clothing, we dress up on Christmas Eve. I’ll wear something like a long Chloé cashmere dress with Chloé boots, while the next day, I’ll opt for a mini dress by DÔEN, featuring a white lace collar, paired with flat Chanel ballerina shoes, semi-transparent dotted tights, and my Dior ring and necklace. My Christmas makeup is always natural - Bamford lip balm, MAC lip liner in Subculture, Shiseido concealer, NARS bronzer, eyebrow gel by Anastasia, and Dior mascara after curling my lashes with a MAC eyelash curler.
Your new porcelain collection with Vista Alegre and ceramic collection with Bordallo Pinheiro are named after your late mother Gudrun – can you tell us a bit about her?
I was very close to both of my parents and in those first weeks after I moved to Paris, my father, who was a lawyer, handled all my contracts, whilst my mother met my agents, came to my early photo shoots, furnished my apartment with IKEA furniture and showed me how the metro system worked. She loved coming to my fashion shows and was very stylish, often in elegant monochrome outfits from Chanel. She was also extremely kind and nurturing, exactly what was needed to protect a young 17-year-old in Paris.
Can you tell us about some of your inspirations for the new collections?
My childhood memories connected to the countryside inspired me to create them. Watching the squirrels from my bedroom window, collecting acorns, and drawing on them whilst my mother gathered the fall leaves. Listening to the woodpeckers and falling asleep to the bird songs. I’ve also been drawn to earthy tones since my childhood, so I wanted the colour palette to include those lush greens, browns and russets, as well as the richer shades such as mustard, ochre and crimson, which signal the change of season. I designed all the pieces to work well with my mid-century wooden tables and bring those warm hues of fall into my home.
How did you become involved in the collaboration?
I’ve always been drawn to exceptional craftsmanship and Vista Alegre and Bordallo Pinheiro are experts at what they do. I’d collected so many of their pieces that eventually, I wanted to connect to the team about their history and a collaboration. The first two collections of decorative items and dinnerware I designed, “Cloudy Butterflies”, did so well, we wanted to expand the range further, so now I’m launching “Gudrun”.
Gudrun by Claudia Schiffer for Vista Alegre and Bordallo Pinheiro is available now at vistaalegre.com and bordallopinheiro.com and other stockists worldwide.
To read the full exclusive interview, pick up the latest issue of HELLO! on sale in the UK on 9 December. You can subscribe to HELLO! to get the magazine delivered free to your door every week or purchase the digital edition online via our Apple or Google apps.
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