SUPERMODEL READIES FOR WORLD BEYOND RUNWAYS\German-born star has landed atop industry by scoring successes\with videos, restaurant.

Byline: Nathaniel C. Nash The New York Times

Claudia Schiffer could be the real-life Barbie. Tall, long-legged, curvaceous, with flowing blond hair, a wholesome face - and a wholesome life to match - she doesn't drink, smoke or pose nude.

But appearances tell just part of the story. More and more, Schiffer seems to be trying to imitate the people who made Barbie - the executives at Mattel Inc. who have taken the doll's enduring image and built a hugely profitable business around.

For behind her near-ubiquitous presence on Parisian catwalks, on magazine covers and in Revlon ads, this 25-year-old German model is running a mini-conglomerate generating millions of dollars a year as the world's best-paid supermodel.

The strategy is simple enough. Market the face and body of one of the best-known supermodels across a host of media, engage a team of professional advisers, confidants and investors, work endless hours and most weekends - and the profits just flow in.

Yes, her modeling fees can reach $50,000 a day. But that's just the beginning.

Schiffer designs her own calendars, which bring in an estimated $300,000 to $500,000 a year. She has her own series of German television specials. She has published two books about her life in the fashion world and has taken a bit part in a movie. She opened the Fashion Cafe in Rockefeller Center with several partners, and most recently created her own four-part exercise video with CBS/Fox.

In short, she is building Claudia Schiffer Inc., as a way to address one of the most difficult issues for a superstar. "The point," she said in an interview, "is to make your career bigger than modeling."

For as the star fades, and the youthfulness flees, the fickle public will look elsewhere.

Now more than ever, Schiffer must make decisions to increase her earning power long after the spotlight shifts.

"The end comes up on you very fast," says Ines de la Fressange, who was the face of Chanel during much of the 1980s and now designs her own clothes. "All of a sudden no one is interested in you anymore. So you have to look ahead."

Michael Gross, author of a best-selling book on the fashion industry, said: "The model who makes mistakes with her business and her life is the norm.

"The model who does not make mistakes, who keeps her eyes on the prize, is the exception and Claudia Schiffer is an exception in more than her looks. She has managed what God gave her very well. The question is, how will she manage when age and gravity start to take it all away?"

Though Schiffer will not say how much she earns, those in the fashion industry put it anywhere from $8 million to $14 million a year, and possibly more.

"Claudia goes out on the streets of Paris and something electrifying happens," said Karl Lagerfeld, the Chanel designer. "But that doesn't explain her business success. Underneath she is all work, very serious, essentially a smooth-running German business machine."

Hard work aside, the deal that made Schiffer was the exclusive global contract she signed in 1992 with Revlon, the giant cosmetics company that is a unit of MacAndrews & Forbes, for an estimated $6 million a year for 10 years.

That one deal made Schiffer the highest paid model in history, eclipsing even the previous top supermodel, Cindy Crawford.

Indeed, sitting in a Paris hotel discussing her business life, she does not exhibit that almost exuberant flair for design of a Lagerfeld, nor the sass of her supermodel friend Naomi Campbell, nor the flirtatious flip of the head of Crawford.

It is a focused, no-nonsense Claudia Schiffer, almost devoid of emotion, a combination that may be the reason she is considered by many to be the best businesswoman in modeling.

"The most important thing is control," she said. "Everything has to be perfect in my business. Because when there is a mistake I am the one who is responsible."

Schiffer, of course, is not the only supermodel creating new businesses beyond the runway. Crawford has starred in her first full-length movie and has done stints on MTV. She is credited with being the first supermodel to expand across multiple lines of business. Elle MacPherson, also a partner in Fashion Cafe, has her own line of lingerie in Australia. And Campbell, another partner, has written a novel.

But Schiffer has cashed in on her diverse lines of business more than any other.

Looked at separately, her businesses appear as a series of small ventures, but taken together they are a case study in entrepreneurship.

"I set for myself only small goals, goals that are not that far away," she said.

She insists she has a code of ethics - "I don't endorse cigarettes, and food-related things or liquor," she said. "I don't think you should give away your name and face to something you don't believe 100 percent in." She did, however, dance with Mickey Mouse in a Fanta ad that reportedly earned her $2 million, explaining that other celebrities like Elton John have done similar ads for the Coca-Cola brand.

And instead of living in Germany, where more than half her income would be lost to taxes, her residence is the tax haven of Monaco. Her work is international, she says, and the days she does work in her homeland she pays German income taxes.

She is a cautious investor. "I am very conservative," she said. "I don't invest in anything that is risky. If someone comes to me with a project idea, I let them risk their money, not mine." She says her personal portfolio has no stocks, just "100 percent risk-free" bonds.

Though some models, like Linda Evangelista, take their careers well into their 30s - and some, like Lauren Hutton, even into their 50s - most do not. Schiffer plans other things besides slinking down a catwalk in Versace clothes.

The way she sees it, the exercise videos have a long life, as does the restaurant business. Speaking of a possible acting career, she said, "I've already turned down many movie proposals." She says offering her own line of clothes is a possibility - later.

"I no longer have to think about what I am going to do when I am 30 or 35," she says. "These different projects are not tied to the athletic modeling world."

But financial pitfalls abound.

Indeed, in December, the modeling world was stunned when two investment advisers working mainly with women from the Elite modeling agency in New York were indicted, charged with defrauding unsuspecting investors of $1 million.

But those who know Schiffer say she is so cautious about her business dealings, so conservative and so involved in them that she would be among the least likely to stumble.

Her first line of defense is her mother, whom she describes as the watchdog over the purse strings of her business.

Her second line of defense is her modeling agency, Metropolitan, and her booking agent, Aline Soulier, who discovered Schiffer in a Dusseldorf pub when she was 17 and now manages her schedule and negotiates most contracts. She has German and American lawyers, as well as an investment adviser based in Monaco.

While she probably earns $2 million to $4 million a year simply modeling clothes, being the face of Chanel, and doing magazine covers and promotions for other designers, like the Kenar billboard in Times Square, her most lucrative job is with Revlon.

"The real goal in the fashion business is to have a contract with a cosmetics company," Schiffer said. "It represents an enormous amount of money for many, many years, because they are not just using your face for their advertising campaigns. You become their spokesperson, going to corporate events, talking about the product, doing small events like local retailers, even charity work."

And her most recent venture, four exercise videos produced with CBS/-Fox, could also, if successful, generate enormous income and go on for years.

But like any businesswoman, Schiffer has had her share of duds and miscues.

She did a cameo appearance in the comedy "Richie Rich," about a fabulously wealthy boy. Schiffer appeared for less than a minute as Claudia, Richie's aerobics instructor.

The Business of Claudia Schiffer

A look at how Ms. Schiffer has turned her physical attributes into financial assets. Income figures are estimates provided by industry officials and experts.

REVLON

$6 million a year

Most lucrative cosmetics contract on record.

STRATEGY: Keep this contract going as as long as possible.

OTHER MODELING

$2 million to $4 million

Includes work for clothing designers, photos for magazines and royalties from republishing photos.

STRATEGY: Make the Schiffer presence widely known, but beware of overexposure.

TV SPECIALS

$150,000 to $300,000

STRATEGY: Exposure on TV develops her live camera skills and enhances other products like videos and movies.

BIT PARTS IN MOVIES

$30,000 to $60,000

STRATEGY: Get experience in films and acting.

CALENDARS

$300,000 to $500,000

STRATEGY: Make a sexy calendar, with no nudity, aimed at men and teen-age women.

BOOKS

$50,000 to $100,000

STRATEGY: Marketed primarily to teen-age girls.

FASHION CAFE

Potentially $1 million X

STRATEGY: Put Schiffer name to use in fast-growing theme restaurant business. Models put in little or no money. Local investors bear most risks.

EXERCISE VIDEOS

$500,000 XX

STRATEGY: Use models media appeal in this fast growing industry segment.

X Estimated for 1997 based on income from seven currently operating or planned restaurants.

XX Assuming strong 1996 sales, since videos went on sale in January.

CAPTION(S):

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Box The Business of Claudia Schiffer (See text) Photo (1) Claudia Schiffer has been praised by her friends for her business style. The New York Times (2) No caption (Claudia Schiffer exercise video) The New York Times