Photographs by Katja Rahlwes
‘I’m really lucky,” Cindy Crawford says, illuminating the obvious. She’s not talking about her fantastic looks, or the fact that she’s always been the feet-on-the-ground model who’s never seen the inside of rehab. She’s talking about her career, which has shifted seamlessly from international superstar to Malibu mom with several major businesses on the side: “I’ve been able to push my career as my life changes.”
Today, much to the disappointment of her fans, Crawford only models when the mood strikes. But being able to make clothes come to life is not a skill that goes away. “We did a commercial for my furniture line where I wore a bunch of super-high-fashion stuff, and I worked it,” Crawford says. “The team said, ‘We’ve never seen this side of you!’ I was like, ‘This I can do in my sleep!’”
What are you up to these days?
I live in Malibu now. I have two kids—an 8-year-old boy named Presley and a 6-year-old daughter, Kaia. So, obviously, my life has changed a lot. But I still model. I just did a Russian Vogue cover, and I’m always up to working with a new photographer who seems interesting. My two big projects are a skin-care line called Meaningful Beauty and a furniture line.
What are those all about?
The skin care is a collaboration with a doctor I used to see in Paris who did these amazing vitamin treatments. When I stopped being in Europe so much, I begged him to bottle it and do it at a price that’s not prohibitive.
The home line started three years ago. This company had seen my houses photographed and reached out. I said, “But I’m a fashion model!” But then I realized that I’ve been so exposed to design, and I’ve traveled so much and seen such beautiful places, that I’ve really developed ideas about things. The home line is also at a lower price point, and now when I see that you can get a great leather sofa for $2,000, I feel like a fool for listening to decorators all those years.
Do you miss being a full-time model?
It’s just evolution. Fashion is about changing and what’s new—41-year-old models aren’t usually on covers, so if I’d only wanted to model, that would have been a depressing road. I spend so much time at home raising my family now, so it only makes sense that I’d do a home line.
Do you still pay attention to fashion?
I’m more of a fan now that I’m not so in the middle of it. I don’t know every young model and designer, but I still want to know what’s happening.
Did you enjoy wearing these knits?
Big sweaters are hard to wear ’cause they’re so big! You don’t necessarily feel hot and sexy—you’ve got to push it, work it. With the high heels, though, they can get intense.