In a Week All About 1990s Supermodels, Claudia Schiffer Closes Versace’s Show Yesterday at Milan Fashion Week

Claudia Schiffer walking in Versace show

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 23 September 2023

The focus in pop culture this week has specifically been on 1990s supermodels, with the release of the docuseries The Super Models on Apple TV+ on Wednesday. The series features Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, and Christy Turlington—all four of whom are certainly supermodels—but it leaves out some other iconic supermodels of the decade, like Claudia Schiffer, for example. (Campbell, Crawford, Evangelista, and Turlington, by the way, are also on the cover of September Vogue.)

Schiffer got her moment in the limelight again at yesterday’s Versace show at Milan Fashion Week, where she returned to the runway to close the Versace spring 2024 show. “Schiffer resurrected her signature strut in a floor-length green and silver checkerboard dress,” People reports. “The slinky form-fitting dress had a metallic finish embellished with crystal beads and mint green lace that outlined the model’s torso. The look was finished off with a subtle natural makeup look and silver metallic pointed heels with a bow at the base of the foot.”

In a collaborative Instagram post, Schiffer and Vogue wrote “Today during #MilanFashionWeek, @donatella_versace debuted her spring 2024 collection to a star-studded audience. One of the most special guests? Legendary supermodel @claudiaschiffer, who closed the show wearing a dazzling green gown.”

Of the look, Schiffer told Vogue “It’s basically molded onto my body. It fits me like a glove. I always stay really healthy. I do work out, and I make sure I get a good night’s rest.”

This is the first time Schiffer has hit the catwalk since 2018, when she joined Campbell, Crawford, and fellow 1990s supermodels Helena Christensen and Carla Bruni to close Versace’s spring 2018 show. For that show, the women joined Donatella Versace in a variety of gold floor-length gowns with gold heels. Schiffer and Versace have been friends and collaborators for 30 years, and Schiffer told Vogue how important their relationship is to her on both a personal and a professional level: “Donatella is just a wonderful, warm-hearted, gentle, genuine, nice person who really does care,” Schiffer said. “It’s like you’re coming into a warm hug of the Versace family. I always really look forward to it. It’s just more than just a fashion show and ad campaign. It’s much more than that.”

In between Schiffer’s 2018 and 2023 runways for Versace, the two women worked with Balmain creative director Olivier Rousteing on two exclusive Barbie dolls for Schiffer for the supermodel’s fiftieth birthday in 2020. The Barbies were recreations of two of Schiffer’s most celebrated looks for Versace and Balmain—a blue gown from Versace’s fall/winter 1994 runway show, and a black long-sleeved macrame top, belt, and cut-out skirt for Balmain’s 2016 spring/summer collection.

Margot Robbie in Sydney in a sparkly pink dress

Further adding to her pop culture relevance this summer, a pink metallic Versace dress that Schiffer wore was reimagined by Barbie star Margot Robbie, who wore a dress designed to pay homage to Schiffer’s pink Versace look to a promotional event for the movie. Schiffer originally wore the look to Paris Fashion Week in 1994. Schiffer responded to the tribute, writing on Instagram “Margot Robbie has great taste,” adding a winking emoji.

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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.