Cover Catastrophe

Let's get one thing clear, Sports Illustrated has nothing to do with high fashion. Nevertheless, I will admit to always having had a penchant for SI's annual swimsuit issue. I have collected every swimsuit edition dating back to 1974 (my birth year) and am most fond of the era belonging to swimsuit editor and founder Jule Campbell. Back in the day, Campbell exercised complete autonomy over the issue, from the selection of models, to the bathing suits, sites and photographers. In an interview for SI's 25th Anniversary swimsuit issue in 1989, president of Ford Models Eileen Ford revealed in reference to the lucrative nature of an SI booking that "Everybody's praying Jule will take her. Praying." And for a select few including Paulina Porizkova, Christie Brinkley, Kelly Emberg, Kim Alexis, Carol Alt, Renee Simonsen, Elle MacPherson, Stephanie Seymour, Cindy Crawford, and Naomi Campbell, those prayers were answered.

A lot has changed since then but still every year I look forward to the swimsuit issue and spend the weeks leading up to the release date concocting lists of who I think should appear in the issue. This year I stayed up late to witness SI's swimsuit cover reveal on David Letterman and happened to be surfing the net for clues when I stumbled across a leaked photo of Kate Upton on what appeared to be the cover. I happen to like Upton and think that she would indeed be a cover worthy candidate but was convinced that the leaked cover was a hoax because the image that I was confronted with was a complete and utter train-wreck. The image, featuring a heavily airbrushed Upton in an unflattering, awkward pose with her upper anatomy spilling out of a bikini top and bottom, would have been more appropriate on the cover of Hustler magazine.

A few days have passed since the official unveiling of SI's swimsuit issue and I have had some time to digest what is in my opinion the worst cover in SI Swimsuit history. Which is a real shame given that this year's edition has a lot of positives, namely the return of Izabel Goulart, Ariel Meredith, Alyssa Miller, Jessica Gomes, Anne Vyalitsyna, Irina Shayk and the gorgeous Chrissy Teigen. Also equally impressive are the 2012 rookies, in particular the super articulate Crystal Renn, Costa Rican cutie Jessica Perez, and Vanessa Williams look-a-like Kirby Griffin. The issue itself and the online website feature an abundance of beautiful images which would have been so much more cover worthy. Below are some of the highlights of SI 2012, that is if you can bring yourself to look beyond the unfortunate cover featuring Ms Upton.

Cover Debacle - Kate Upton
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue 2012
Photographer - Walter Iooss Jr

Izabel Goulart
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue 2012
Photographer - James Macari
Source - womenmanagement.blogspot.com

Kirby Griffin
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue 2012
Photographer - Derek Kettela
Source - womenmanagement.blogspot.com

Cintia Dicker
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2012
Photographer - Derek Kettela
Source - marilynnewyork.blogspot.com

Irina Shayk
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue 2012
Photographer - Derek Kettela

Crystal Renn
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue 2012
Photographer - Walter Iooss Jr

Anne Vyalitsyna
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue 2012
Photographer - James Macari
Source - womenmanagement.blogspot.com

Chrissy Teigen
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue 2012
Photographer - James Macari

Ariel Meredith
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue 2012
Photographer - Bjorn Iooss

Chrissy Teigen

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue 2012

Photographer - James Macari

Ariel Meredith
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue 2012
Photographer - Bjorn Iooss

Jessica Perez
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue 2012
Photographer - Bjorn Iooss

Jessica Gomes
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue 2012
Photographer - Walter Iooss Jr

Irina Shayk
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue 2012
Photographer - Derek Kettela

Alyssa Miller
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue 2012
Photographer - James Macari

Nina Agdal
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue 2012
Photographer - James Macari

Adaora Akubilo
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue 2012
Photographer - Walter Iooss Jr
Unless otherwise stated all images courtesy of si.com

Seal Of Approval

Barney's Fall/Winter 2011 Campaign receives the midas touch courtesy of styling by former Paris Vogue Editor-in-Chief Carine Roitfeld. The campaign features an eclectic cast of women handpicked by Roitfeld from her favourite models, co-workers, friends and family. Amongst the chosen few are models Joan Smalls, Daphne Groeneveld, Saskia de Brauw, Fei Fei Sun, Malgosia Bela, Crystal Renn, Carolyn Murphy and Naomi Campbell. The images lensed by photographer Mario Sorrenti are accompanied by quotes penned by Roitfeld celebrating the unique and alluring qualities of each model.

Fei Fei Sun

"I find Chinese women exquisite. I had never worked with Fei Fei before, and I found her absolutely ravishing. She has the grace of a child, she is bewitching, like a fairy tale."

Jessica Hart

"Jessica is the Australian girlfriend of my son Vladmir's best friend. So pretty, natural, and elegant. She's got a spontaneous, sporty allure and she's always smiling."

Saskia de Brauw

"I met Saskia at a Givenchy runway show and hired her immediately. She is an exceptional model and I put her on my final issue of Vogue."

Crystal Renn

"I have worked with Crystal before, when she was more full-figured and voluptuous. I think there are all types of beauty, and have always liked very curvy women - maybe because I am very skinny myself. But even now, slimmed down, she's still magnificent."

 

Joan Smalls

"Joan has a tremendous natural beauty and carries with her the feeling of her native Puerto Rico. I always knew she would be a very big star."

Izabel Goulart

"Izabel, a Brazilian, is one of my most recent discoveries. She is a very, very beautiful girl that I first saw at a Victoria's Secret runway show."

Carolyn Murphy

 "I have worked with Carolyn many times, often along with Mario Testino, and we really trust each other. She doesn't seem like a typical model - she looks so marvellous, but is also somehow approachable. You see her and you want to look like her."

Malgosia Bela

"Malgosia is one of those rare models that really understands photography, and will do anything to get a good photo. She's very intelligent and we've worked together many times. Once, we partnered with artist Taryn Simon to shoot her nude in a Japanese restaurant with sushi on top of her."

Daphne Groeneveld

"Daphne is the youngest of all the models featured here. I put her on her first magazine cover with Tom Ford. I find her incredible with her innate kindness and that enormous mouth. She has an unusual strange beauty. For me, she's like a new Lara Stone."

Naomi Campbell
Barneys F/W 2011
Stylist - Carine Roitfeld
Photographer - Mario Sorrenti
Source - fashionologie.com

"I met Naomi 25 years ago at the beginning of her career and worked with her often. She is of course a legendary model and an icon, but one thing that people don't know about her is that she has a very big heart."

The Waiting Game

With New York Fashion Week due to commence on the 10th of February, castings for the shows are well under way with a gazillion models traipsing frantically all over the city in the hopes of landing a coveted spot in the most influential of shows. ACW's casting is perhaps one of the most important castings for any new or established model. The ACW agency led by director Andrew Weir and his skilled team, casts shows for Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Proenza Schouler, Hugo Boss, Nicole Farhi, Malo, Marchesa, Hussein Chalayan, and Viktor & Rolf. 

An appearance in a show such as Calvin Klein, generates the kind of buzz about a new model that can potentially translate into a stellar runway season and more importantly major campaign bucks. ACW's annual casting held at the Hudson Hotel has become somewhat of a casting extravaganza with hundreds of models converging on Soho in the hopes of impressing the powers that be. Models.com were on hand to provide a behind the scenes chronicle of the event. Kudos to all of the models in attendance and best of luck!

Tao Okamoto, Charlene Almarvez et al.

The delightful Crystal Renn

Cool Cats - Jana Knauerova and Milou Van Groesen

Ingenue - So Young Kang

Comeback Queen - Querelle Jansen

AJ & Yulia Kharlapanova

Arresting Beauty - Jourdan Dunn

Ataui Deng & Ajak Deng with ACW's Harrison

In the Moment
All images courtesy of models.com