Heidi Klum Defends Racy Fashion Choices: ‘I’m Not Shy About My Femininity’

Heidi Klum is confident in what she chooses to wear. 

The 51-year-old German supermodel is addressing critics who have negative things to say about the way she dresses. 

“I’m not shy about my femininity. I love dressing up where I have my cleavage showing, wearing miniskirts, high heels, gorgeous stockings — but that doesn’t mean I want to go home with you,” Klum told The Times in an interview published on Nov. 1. 

For Klum, her style is simply an extension of her “personality.”

“Why not? I want to have fun and show my body, but I have boundaries, as do all women,” she continued.

Elsewhere in the interview, the former Victoria’s Secret Angel explained how her childhood impacted her interest in fashion early on. 

“There’s this carnival in Cologne every year and I used to go on the float. My grandmother was a seamstress, so I always had lots of outfits, or my mum would make something for me and my Barbie to match, which is amazing as Mattel rang me one day and I have my own Barbie now,” Klum said. 

The America’s Got Talent judge got her own iconic doll in 2009. A sneak peek was shared around the time of the Barbie 50th Anniversary show at Fashion Week, and part of Barbie’s Blonde Ambition Collection, which featured a series of blondes in fashion and entertainment. 

During her interview with The Times, Klum shared that there was one thing about the dolls that she couldn’t get past. 

“It always bugged me that they were naked. I didn’t like how none of them wore any underwear, it’s undignified. Mine has a cute pair of pink knickers and a bra painted on. I’m very proud of that,” she added.

However, the former Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover girl doesn’t just turn heads with her racier looks — throughout the years she’s become known as a queen of Halloween thanks to her bold and over-the-top costume choices. 

On Oct. 31, Klum and her husband Tom Kaulitz arrived at her 23rd annual Halloween Party at Hard Rock Hotel New York: The Venue on Music Row as female and male versions of E.T. from Steven Spielberg‘s 1982 film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.

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Klum spoke to PEOPLE on the red carpet, saying she went as E.T. because he has been “part of most of our lives,” calling herself “a big fan.”

“[I] kind of thought about the universe in a different way and I thought E.T. was so cute and how he was wiggling around and all the moments when E.T. got dressed up with a wig and everything so I just thought it would be fun to become E.T. and especially to see two,” she added.