sports illustrated: Irina Shayk

Friday, February 17, 2012

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

Monday, January 10, 2011

American Icon

Since it's inception in 1964, the Sports Illustrated annual swimsuit issue has become as much a bastion of American popular culture as the Superbowl. Indeed, an appearance on the cover of the S.I swimsuit issue has been likened to the superbowl of modelling, with many a model's career being launched into the stratosphere as a result.

The S.I swimsuit issue was the mastermind of S.I editor Andre Laguerre, who in 1964 asked fashion reporter Jule Campbell; "How would you like to go to some beautiful place and put a pretty girl on the cover?" The idea was engineered to increase readership during the winter months when sports stories were typically low. Laguerre granted Campbell autonomy over the project, from the selection of models, bathing suits and, in consultation with the managing editor, the site locations and photographers for the issue.

Campbell soon became a powerful figure in the modelling world and can be given credit for moulding the issue into a media phenomenon by featuring models with fuller figures whom she euphemistically referred to as "healthy girls", whilst publishing the names of the models alongside the photos, thereby heralding a new supermodel era.

The S.I swimsuit issue offers models the opportunity to become a household name, often times crossing over from the world of high fashion to a more commercial market. According to S.I, the swimsuit issue has a pass-along readership of over 70 million. That coupled with the S.I franchise which includes a behind the scenes feature video of the making of the issue, calendars and diaries, means maximum exposure.

The careers of many of the world's top models have been catapulted by their appearances in the S.I swimsuit issue. Cheryl Tiegs, Christie Brinkley, Carol Alt, Kim Alexis, Kelly Emberg, Paulina Porizkova, Renee Simonsen, Elle Macpherson, Kathy Ireland, Estelle LeFebure, Karen Alexander, Stephanie Seymour, Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Heidi Klum, Tyra Banks, Carolyn Murphy, Isabeli Fontana and Angela Lindvall have all made appearances.

The release date for the 2011 swimsuit issue is slated for the 15th of February with a new generation of models vying for the cover. My bets are on Hilary Rhoda, Irina Shayk or Christine Teigen to take out the honours. The following images in the meantime, pay tribute to Jule Campbell and the contributions that she has made to the modelling industry.