Claudia Schiffer Shines Bright in the Rainbow Stripe Cashmere Sweater of My Dreams

Claudia Schiffer wearing a rainbow stripe sweater and a gold locket in Los Angeles

(Image credit: Backgrid)

published 18 October 2024

Claudia Schiffer looked like a colorful ray of sunshine at dinner with her family in Beverly Hills. The German model—who recently shot the campaign for Hailey Bieber's latest Rhode launch—went out to dinner with her children and husband Matthew Vaughn at celebrity hotspot E Baldi on Thursday, Oct. 17.

Her look eschewed fall trends in favor of a rainbow striped sweater reminiscent of Gap's iconic Y2K candy stripe turtleneck, once featured on a model with blonde hair and blue eyes in the brand's widely circulated holiday catalogue. In an ode to the sweater penned for Vogue by writer Liana Satenstein, former Gap employee Michael Bise recalled, “The catchphrase for Gap for Holiday 2000 was 'Holiday Is Here,' and nothing epitomized that feeling more than The Chunky Turtleneck Sweater. This thick cotton item was a significant change for Gap. The company had offered much sleeker silhouettes for the previous several seasons, so this item appealed to a wider range of customers in age and body shape.”

Decades later, the cotton-blend sweater saw a resurgence after influencer Devon Lee Carlson wore it with a pair of denim overalls and a colorful patchwork Chanel shoulder bag in December 2020.

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A photo of Claudia Schiffer wearing a rainbow striped sweater — Claudia Schiffer wears a rainbow striped sweater from The Elder Statesman to dinner with her family.

Schiffer's exact sweater isn't vintage Gap scoured from the depths of Depop, though. The ribboned cashmere knit comes courtesy of The Elder Statesman, and lucky for me, it's still available for purchase. Here, the '90s supermodel styled it with wide-leg jeans, brown suede sandals, and a brown leather bucket bag. I've yet to identify the bag's designer, but similar options can be found from Il Bisonte, Strathberry, and Madewell.

A photo of Claudia Schiffer carrying a brown leather bucket bag. — Claudia Schiffer carries a brown leather bucket bag.

The Elder Statesman Stripe Cashmere Sweater

Il Bisonte Roseto Vacchetta Leather Bucket Bag

Madewell The Essential Mini Bucket Tote

Strathberry Midi Lana Leather Bucket Bag

In true '90s It-girl fashion, Schiffer kept the look largely un-accessorized apart from a gold heart-shaped ring and a gold heart pendant necklace. She did, however, try out the naked manicure trend beloved by fellow models Kaia Gerber, Kendall Jenner, and Gigi Hadid. Of course, Schiffer's best accessory will always be her signature butter blonde hair. I've been coveting this particular shade of rich-girl blonde for years, but these images—along with Jenner's recent Caroline Bessette Kennedy-inspired hair transformation—have officially convinced me to take the plunge for fall and winter.

Hanna Lustig is a staff writer at Marie Claire, where she gets to gab every day about the topics she holds most dear: fashion, beauty, and celebrity. Hanna’s editorial journey began with formative internships at Elle and InStyle, where she was lucky enough to work for some of the smartest women in media while she was still in college at the University of Tennessee. Hanna then accepted a digital culture reporting fellowship at Insider, where she helped carve out a new beat dedicated to covering influencers. Those experiences later served her well as a staff writer at Glamour, where she developed a knack for spinning quick turnaround celebrity news and trend reporting into juicy feature stories. Some of her greatest hits include an earnest ode to the no-pants trend, this meticulously reported feature exploring the rise of endoscopic facelifts, this snappy take on the Chanel-designed fantasy of Sofia Richie’s wedding, this tribute to WAGs past and present, and this timeline of Katie Holmes’s life and career as told through her denim collection.

Diane Keaton once hung up on Hanna during an interview, but thankfully that mishap did not derail what has otherwise been a deeply fulfilling career writing for and about women. As one of Marie Claire's resident experts on style and culture, her current coverage ranges from exploring TikTok's contrast makeup theory and the return of the boat shoe trend to interviews with costume designers for hit shows like Nobody Wants This and The Penguin. When she’s not at work, Hanna can probably be found listening to pop music, talking to her dog, and gossiping with her best friends. For more of Hanna’s perfect opinions on pop culture, you can follow her on Instagram and X.