Supermodel is Extinct, Says Claudia

By ALLAN HALL

SUPERMODELS do not exist any more, according to Claudia Schiffer.

Referring to herself, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington and Cindy Crawford, the 37-yearold told a German magazine: “Supermodels like we once were don’t exist any more. The competition is too strong.

“In order to become a supermodel one must be on all the covers all over the world at the same time so that people can recognise the girls.

“That is, for now, not possible, not least because the advertising industry is very much taken by pop stars and actresses.” She said the current generation of models is hardly known to a wide audience.

“I can remember when I needed four bodyguards to get backstage from a Chanel show just to my car,” she said. “And that wasn’t only me. It was pure madness! It isn’t like this any more.” Brazilian Gisela Bundchen is the only model who now approaches “super” status, she added. “Her face is well known, her name is recognised but no other girl occurs to me that people in the street would recognise.”

(c) 2007 Evening Standard; London (UK). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.