06-03-2025
EXCLUSIVE: Claudia Schiffer Eyes More Home Projects After Bordallo Pinheiro Collaborations
MILAN — German supermodel Claudia Schiffer has found her groove beyond the catwalk and into the home sphere.
Schiffer told WWD her aim is to design more interiors, an endeavor that has been bolstered by the success of her third collaboration with historic Portuguese ceramics-maker Bordallo Pinheiro.
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In 2024, she unveiled 'Gudrun' a ceramics and porcelain collection adorned with characters and fall flora and fauna. 'I'm exploring an expansion into linens — such as tablecloths, napkins and runners — as well as glassware. I'm also looking to introduce a range of candles in partnership with a fragrance house,' she said.
Gudrun was the fruit of a partnership between Bordallo Pinheiro and fellow Portuguese porcelain and crystal maker Vista Alegre, which celebrated their 200-year anniversary in 2024. With it, Schiffer introduced an elegant new seven-piece dinnerware range, which referenced heritage porcelain craftsmanship.
The supermodel designed dinner plates, soup bowls and bread plates, as well as a teapot, teacups and saucers with a fall-inspired motif of oak leaves, acorns and squirrels reflecting her daily life in the countryside. Schiffer currently lives in an Elizabethan Tudor manor house in Suffolk, England, with her husband, English filmmaker Matthew Vaughn, and their youngest daughter Cosima, who is 14.
When she isn't working on her home collection, she's been working behind the scenes on fashion and beauty partnerships for Vaughn's films. 'I love being involved in the numerous partnerships created for each film, many of which have had long-running success — such as Kingsman clothing for men with Mr Porter, which is now in its highly successful 21st collection.'
Vaughn co-wrote, directed and produced the blockbuster Kingsman franchise films: 'The Secret Service,' 'Kingsman: The Golden Circle,' and 'The King's Man,' the latter released in 2021.
With Cosima still at home, Schiffer's focus is very much on her own home, despite having entered a new phase of her modeling career after being signed on to IMG models in September and being featured on the cover of Vogue Arabia and Pop Magazine in the same month.
'While Cosima is at school, I work on my ceramic and porcelain collections. I also continue to represent fashion companies and take on campaigns when the timings align with my family schedule,' she added.
Schiffer continues to work with Bordallo Pinheiro, whose designs she began collecting years ago after Portuguese friends gave her a cheese plate adorned with little ceramic mice. She took it upon herself to approach the company, which is based in Caldas da Rainha on Portugal's west coast.
In September 2020, she unveiled her first collaboration with Bordallo Pinheiro called Cloudy Butterflies, a detailed decorative collection adorned with butterflies in several colors. This was followed in 2023 by an informal dinnerware collection that extended the ceramics range and further developed the butterfly designs. It was inspired by the rolling hills, fields and farmland that surround her English home and by the countryside where she grew up near the River Rhine in Germany.
Bordallo Pinheiro was founded in Portugal in 1884, and specializes in earthenware ceramics. The company said it uses centuries-old techniques to reproduce models and create contemporary products.
The latest collection was named Gudrun, after her late mother. 'This collection is dedicated to all my childhood memories connected to the countryside — watching the squirrels from my bedroom window, collecting acorns while my mother gathered the fall leaves, which I used as tiny canvases for my drawings. When I started brainstorming, acorns were one of my first design references. Listening to the woodpeckers and falling asleep to the bird song — these memories inspired me to create these new collections and I'm so proud of the outcome,' she said.
Looking ahead, Schiffer said she's focused on creating a cohesive homeware line in complementary tones and textures, envisaged for anything from dining at home with family or hosting a party.
'My aesthetic is organic and rustic with a midcentury feel, and over my career, I've learned to work only with brands that I admire. Synergy is crucial and I'm very hands-on from ideation and my initial designs and drawings, right through to the final product.'
Like some of her fellow supermodels, Schiffer has been building a portfolio career since she stepped off the catwalk.
She's put a strong focus on collaborations, following her passions and interests and serving as creative director of fashion and design brands.
In past years she has published an eponymous coffee table book with Rizzoli and curated a '90s fashion photography exhibition at the Museum Kunstpalast with an accompanying art book published by Prestel.
She has also been working in film — she is an executive producer and cofounder of film studio MARV, with her husband, Vaughn.
In 2020, Schiffer partnered with numerous brands including Frame, Bamford and Lucie Kaas, which released special limited edition and one-off pieces in celebration of her 50th birthday.
She also curated a capsule collection for Versace, while the @BarbieStyle channel unveiled a one-of-a-kind Claudia Schiffer doll with two recreated designer looks inspired by runway styles that she modeled years ago. In 2024 Mattel released a third Claudia Schiffer Barbie.
Fellow supermodel Helena Christensen has also focused on the interiors arena.
In February, Christensen debuted her first project as global artistic director for Denmark-based furniture maker BoConcept. This was in collaboration with fellow Dane Charlotte Høncke, an industrial designer-turned-furniture and lighting expert, who designed a capsule called 'Sweet Art.'
Christensen also is part of the lifestyle brand Staerkandchristensen alongside another fellow Dane, Camilla Staerk, who is known for her designs of women's and men's ready-to-wear and accessories. Together, the duo produce sculptural home objects and modern artisanal designs and have worked on collaborations with New York-based studio Bower and Danish designer Kasper Salto.
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