American magazine published by Sports Illustrated
The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue is published annually by American magazine Sports Illustrated and features female fashion models, celebrities and athletes wearing swimwear in various locales around the world. The highly coveted cover photograph has been considered as the arbiter of supermodel succession.[1] The issue carries advertising that, in 2005, amounted to US$35 million in value.[1] First published in 1964, it is credited with making the bikini, invented in 1946,[2] a legitimate piece of apparel.[3]
Since 1964, the issue had been published every February, but starting in 2019, the issue was made available in May.[4][5]
History
The swimsuit issue was invented by Sports Illustrated editor Andre Laguerre to fill the winter months, a typically slow point in the sporting calendar.[1] He asked fashion reporter Jule Campbell to go on a shoot to fill space, including the cover, with a beautiful model. The first issue, released in 1964, entailed a cover featuring Babette March and a five-page layout. Campbell soon became a powerful figure in modeling and molded the issue into a media phenomenon by featuring "bigger and healthier" California women and printing the names of the models with their photos, beginning a new supermodel era.[1] In the 1950s, a few women appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated, but the 1964 issue is considered to be the beginning of the current format known as the Swimsuit Issue. The issue that got the most letters was the 1978 edition.[6] In 1997, Tyra Banks was the first black woman on the cover.[7] Since 1997, the swimsuit issue has been a stand-alone edition, separate from the regular weekly magazine.[8] Its best selling issue was the 25th Anniversary Issue with Kathy Ireland on the cover in 1989.[6]
Through the years, many models, such as Cheryl Tiegs, Christie Brinkley, Paulina Porizkova, Elle Macpherson, Rachel Hunter, Rebecca Romijn, Petra Nemcova, Valeria Mazza, Heidi Klum, Tyra Banks, Marisa Miller, Brooks Nader, and Irina Shayk have been featured on the cover. Other models within its pages, but not on its cover, include Cindy Crawford, Stephanie Seymour, Ella Halikas, Niki Taylor, Angie Everhart, and Naomi Campbell. The eight models featured on the cover of the 2006 issue were featured in a coffee-table book called Sports Illustrated: Exposure. Photographed by Raphael Mazzucco and produced by Diane Smith, the unprecedented "reunion shoot" featured 139 pages of previously-unpublished images. In 2006, the issue expanded publishing to handheld devices.[9] In 2007, the swimsuit issue first became available in China.[10]
The 2008–2013 covergirls were announced on Late Show with David Letterman.[11][12] The 2014 and 2017 covergirls were announced on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.[13] The 2015 cover model was announced on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.[14]
The 2019 covers were exclusively announced on Good Morning America with Tyra Banks and Camille Kostek both appearing on the show on May 8, 2019.[15][16] The 2019 issue leaned towards diversity and inclusivity with models representing different body types.[17] It also tackled ageism, body image and the Me Too movement.[18][19]
The 2020 issue was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic,[20] and was released on July 13, 2020.[21] Valentina Sampaio became the swimsuit issue’s first openly transgender model in 2020.[22] The first openly transgender covergirl for the magazine was Leyna Bloom in 2021.[23]
In May 2022, Yumi Nu became the first plus-size model of Asian descent to be featured on the cover of the magazine.[24] Also in May, Maye Musk became the oldest model to feature on the Swimsuit cover, appearing at 74 years old.[25]
Non-models in the magazine
Female athletes have appeared in swimsuit shoots. Steffi Graf appeared in 1997. In the 2003 issue, tennis player Serena Williams and figure skater Ekaterina Gordeeva were featured inside the magazine. In 2016, UFC fighter Ronda Rousey became the first female athlete to appear on the cover. However, Anna Kournikova appeared in an inset on the 2004 cover, and had a photo spread within its pages.
In 2005, Olympic gold medalists Amanda Beard and Jennie Finch, along with Lauren Jackson and Venus Williams, were featured. Maria Sharapova appeared in an inset on the 2006 cover and had a spread inside. In spring 2006, Sports Illustrated chose music as the theme for the 2007 issue. Swimsuit editor Diane Smith[26] wanted Grammy-winner Beyoncé Knowles to pose.[27] In 2006, Beyoncé launched a swimsuit line under her House of Deréon clothing label. Beyoncé Knowles became the first singer, and first non-model non-athlete, to appear on the cover in 2007.
In 2008, NFL cheerleaders appeared for the first time. Teams include the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, San Diego Chargers, Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, Philadelphia Eagles, Atlanta Falcons, Jacksonville Jaguars, New England Patriots, Oakland Raiders, Washington Commanders and Houston Texans.[28]
Race car driver Danica Patrick appeared in 2008 and 2009. In 2008, she was featured in a four-page spread set in Singer Island, Florida.[29]
For the 2010 issue, four female Winter Olympians appeared in swimsuits: Clair Bidez, Lacy Schnoor, Hannah Teter, and Lindsey Vonn. They were joined by tennis player Ana Ivanovic. Australian hurdler Michelle Jenneke appeared in the 2013 issue after having gained notoriety for her warm-up dance routine, which went viral on YouTube.[30]
In 2012, Alex Morgan first appeared in a body paint swimsuit.[31] In 2014 she made her second appearance this time in an actual swimsuit.[32] In 2019, she appeared for her third appearance alongside her USWNT teammates, Megan Rapinoe, Crystal Dunn and Abby Dahlkemper all joined her in two-piece swimsuits.[33]
Danish tennis player Caroline Wozniacki appeared in the 2015 issue. She is an active player, formerly world number one, and was photographed at Captiva Island in the Gulf of Mexico by Walter Iooss, Jr.[34] Top ranked Canadian tennis player Eugenie Bouchard appeared for the first time in the 2017 issue. She is an active player who has achieved a top five rank in tennis in 2014.[35]
In 2021, Naomi Osaka became the first black athlete to appear not only inside but also on the cover of the SI swimsuit Issue.[36]
In 2023, Martha Stewart, at the age of 81, succeeded Maye Musk as the oldest model on the cover of the SI swimsuit Issue.[37] Also in 2023, Kim Petras became the second openly transgender woman to appear on the cover.[38]
Olivia Dunne, the NCAA gymnast, appeared in the ‘23 edition. Also, Olympic medallists Simone Biles and Aly Raisman in ‘17 and ‘18.
Reception
To some people, the magazine is an acceptable exhibition of female sexuality not out of place on a coffee table.[1] The swimsuit edition is controversial both with moralists who subscribe for sports news content as well as with those who feel that the focus on fashion and swimsuit modeling is inappropriate for a sports magazine. Feminists have expressed that "the Swimsuit Issue promotes the harmful and dehumanizing concept that women are a product for male consumption".[39]
At times, subscriptions have been cancelled by subscribers. The 1978 edition, remembered for its fishnet bathing suit made famous by Cheryl Tiegs, resulted in 340 cancellations.[1] Sports Illustrated makes the controversy a form of entertainment with the issue two weeks after the swimsuit edition packed with complainants such as shocked parents and troubled librarians.[1] As of 2005, the number of cancellations has reportedly declined.[1] Nonetheless, to avoid controversy, Sports Illustrated has, since 2007, offered its subscribers the option of skipping the swimsuit edition for a one issue credit to extend their subscription.[40]
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