The 49-year-old model, who turns 50 on February 20, made headlines on Monday, when it was suggested that she had quietly announced her retirement in an interview with United Airlines' Rhapsody magazine.

"I'm sure I'll have my picture taken for 10 more years, but not as a model any more," Crawford told the publication.

"And that's OK. I've done it. I've worked with all these incredible photographers. What else do I need to do? I can't keep reinventing myself. I shouldn't have to keep proving myself. I don't want to."

However, Crawford has since denied she meant to imply her retirement was imminent.

In an Instagram post on Tuesday, she clarified her statement for fans.

"Every year, I tell my kids I'm retiring," she wrote. "It's a running joke in our family. And yet every year, opportunities pop up that really excite me."

Telling her fans that it is true she wants to "shift her focus a bit to concentrate on [her] businesses, friends and family", Crawford told her  1 million Instagram followers she was "not making any final statements".

"I have loved being part of the fashion industry for the past 30 years – and if that time has taught me anything, it's this: never say never. Thanks for all the support, I'm so excited for what 2016 holds!"

Crawford started modelling at age 17, and went on to become one of the industry's most recognisable faces.

In 1995, Forbes magazine named Crawford the highest paid model on the planet.

In 2000, she quit modelling full time, only appearing occasionally in fashion magazines and campaigns.

In recent years, alongside occasional magazine covers, Crawford has released a number of homewares lines, and has become a spokesperson for child cancer charities, including the Ronald McDonald House.

She has two children with her husband Rande Gerber, Presley, 16, and Kaia, 14.