Claudia Schiffer had a security guard to watch her underwear.

The German supermodel found the attention she received at the height of her catwalk career ''insane'' and admitted she couldn't leave her intimate possessions alone for more than a few minutes or they'd be stolen by fans.

She recalled to The Telegraph magazine: ''It was insane. Like being a rock star. You couldn't get to your car.

''We had security at every fashion show - even employed to guard my underwear! When I was out on the runway I'd come back and my underwear would constantly be gone.''

Despite the attention, Claudia - who has children Caspar, 17, Clementine, 15, and Cosima, 10, with husband Matthew Vaughn - felt she could still lead more of a ''private'' life than the models of today because social media didn't exist in the 1990s.

She said: ''Fundamentally the industry is the same, it's just grown enormously. There are more collections, the pace is faster and social media has had a huge impact.

''It's been great for marketing fashion and beauty products, as well as providing a very effective way to manage your own exposure, which you see particularly with the big models of today.

''What was great in the '90s though was not to feel the pressure to share everything with everybody; you could still have a private life and create a mystique.

''I miss that clear line of the public figure versus the private one, however I do love sharing fashion moments of my life on Instagram.''

And the 49-year-old beauty has never ''craved the limelight''.

She added: ''I've never worried about being relevant. Nor have I been one that craved the limelight or to be the centre of attention and my husband is very similar.

''I love what I do, but I value my privacy and I'm in a very fortunate position to be able to concentrate on collaborations I'm passionate about.''