Claudia Schiffer Marks 50th Birthday With Collaborative Designer Effort

Rather than celebrate her 50th birthday quietly, Claudia Schiffer has linked up with a bevy of brands.

Although Tuesday is her actual birthday, the model is stretching out the celebration with tie-ins — not all of which are for commercial purposes. Frame Denim, Bamford and Lucie Kaas are the three companies that will retail items on which Schiffer collaborated on.

Balmain, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana and Isabel Marant are marking her birthday in different ways. Schiffer said via e-mail that she and all of her collaborators share a sense of taste and style and an ethos for embracing age, health and well-being.

Select pieces or a percentage of sales will support such charities as UNICEF U.K., Heads Together and Humanitas Ricerca.

How Schiffer is celebrating, so to speak, varies from one brand to the next. Balmain, for example, has reissued her favorite dress from Olivier Rousteing’s spring 2016 collection and has given it to her as a gift. Schiffer was part of the designer label’s ad campaign that season, which Steven Klein shot in uptown Manhattan.

For Versace, she has put together a capsule collection that includes a sampling of the label’s signature sexy black dresses. Consumers will be able to check them out starting at 7 p.m. EST Monday.

Having worked with a Dolce & Gabbana throughout her career, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have chosen styles from their Devotion fall collection for Schiffer, including a handbag they have signed and customized. On another note, Lucie Kaas is releasing a handpainted kokeshi doll inspired by the model. (Many know the Danish brand for the doll that pays homage to Karl Lagerfeld.) Bamford’s limited-edition products are items Schiffer uses in her daily beauty routine and will be in a wash bag imprinted with the words “with love from Claudia.” The Lucie Kaas and Bamford offerings will be sold on September 7.

Partnering with Frame Denim was a natural decision, since she has worn the brand for years, Schiffer said via e-mail. Denim with cashmere sweaters or blouses and great accessories is her standard uniform. Working with Frame’s Erik Torstensson and Jens Grede, she helped develop a pair of limited-edition skinny jeans and a wide-leg pair of jeans — two styles that are easy to dress up or down. The trio created a cloud design for the back leather patch that riffs on her nickname, “Cloudy,” and love of nature. The jeans will go on sale Friday.

With a percentage of sales benefiting UNICEF U.K. to support its work protecting and educating children in some of the world’s most dangerous places, Schiffer, a U.K. ambassador for UNICEF, spoke of that significance as “the coronavirus threatens these vulnerable children” even more.

Ten years ago when the model zeroed in on the cobranding strategy and designed her logo with an ampersand, the fashion industry was skeptical, she said. Noting how the industry has since fully embraced that, she launched ceramics with Vista Alegre and Bordallo Pinheiro. In addition to collaborating with the French brand Etre Cecile, Schiffer will curate a photography exhibition at the Kunstpalast Museum in Düsseldorf in March, as reported.

Schiffer said sometimes modeling is seen as being “purely about what you look like,” and people perceive that a model is the same person as the characters that they portray in photographs. “Quite shy and reserved” away from the cameras, Schiffer said she has always been “tenacious and very intuitive,” she said. As the years go by, one’s intuition is “always right,” despite the harder it is to listen to it, she said.

Schiffer offered some unsolicited free advice to someone starting out. Take pride in being professional — working hard, being punctual, polite and disciplined, she said via e-mail. “Do have a good lawyer right from the beginning. Know what you want and where you want to be. Make a long-term plan and never give up!” she continued. “Treat everyone as you would like to be treated and don’t be scared to make mistakes. As long as you learn from them, you will be ok. Also, tell the truth and try to live in the present.”

Sign up for WWD's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.