TheSports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue is published annually by American magazineSports Illustrated and features femalefashion models, celebrities and athletes wearing swimwear in various locales around the world. The highly covetedcover photograph has been considered as the arbiter of supermodel succession.[1] The issue carries advertising that, in 2005, amounted toUS$35 million in value.[1] First published in 1964, it is credited with making thebikini, 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]
The swimsuit issue was invented bySports Illustrated editorAndre Laguerre to fill the winter months, a typically slow point in the sporting calendar.[1] He asked fashion reporterJule 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 featuringBabette 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 ofSports 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]
WhenMark Mulvoy becamemanaging editor ofSports Illustrated, he doubled the size of the swimsuit issue from 20 to 40 pages, becoming a special annual issue[7][8][9] The swimsuit issue sold five million copies annually during his time as managing editor,[8] and profits forSports Illustrated more than quadrupled.[9]
In 1997,Tyra Banks was the first black woman on the cover.[10] Since 1997, the swimsuit issue has been a stand-alone edition, separate from the regular weekly magazine.[11] Its best selling issue was the 25th Anniversary Issue withKathy Ireland on the cover in 1989.[6]
The 2020 issue was delayed due to theCOVID-19 pandemic,[24] and was released on July 13, 2020.[25]Valentina Sampaio became the swimsuit issue’s first openly transgender model in 2020.[26] The first openly transgender covergirl for the magazine wasLeyna Bloom in 2021.[27]
In May 2022,Yumi Nu became the first plus-size model of Asian descent to be featured on the cover of the magazine.[28] Also in May,Maye Musk became the oldest model to feature on the Swimsuit cover, appearing at 74 years old.[29]
Female athletes have appeared in swimsuit shoots.Steffi Graf appeared in 1997. In the 2003 issue, tennis playerSerena Williams and figure skaterEkaterina Gordeeva were featured inside the magazine. In 2016, UFC fighterRonda 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 medalistsAmanda Beard andJennie Finch, along withLauren Jackson andVenus 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[30] wantedGrammy-winnerBeyoncé Knowles to pose.[31] In 2006, Beyoncé launched a swimsuit line under herHouse of Deréon clothing label. Beyoncé Knowles became the first singer, and first non-model non-athlete, to appear on the cover in 2007.
For the 2010 issue, four female Winter Olympians appeared in swimsuits:Clair Bidez,Lacy Schnoor,Hannah Teter, andLindsey Vonn. They were joined by tennis playerAna Ivanovic. Australian hurdlerMichelle Jenneke appeared in the 2013 issue after having gained notoriety for her warm-up dance routine, which went viral on YouTube.[34]
Danish tennis playerCaroline Wozniacki appeared in the 2015 issue. She is an active player, formerly world number one, and was photographed atCaptiva Island in the Gulf of Mexico by Walter Iooss, Jr.[38] Top ranked Canadian tennis playerEugenie 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.[39]
In 2021,Naomi Osaka became the first black athlete to appear not only inside but also on the cover of the SI swimsuit Issue.[40]
In 2023,Martha Stewart, at the age of 81, became the oldest model on the cover of the SI swimsuit Issue.[41] Also in 2023,Kim Petras became the second openly transgender woman to appear on the cover.[42]
Bryan Curtis ofSlate argued that the magazine is an acceptable exhibition of female sexuality not out of place on acoffee table.[1] However, the swimsuit edition has proven 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".[44]
In 1997, sports sociologist Laurel R. Davis publishedThe Swimsuit Issue and Sport: Hegemonic Masculinity in Sports Illustrated, examining the societal implications of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Davis analyzed editions of the magazine from its inception in 1964 through the 1990s and conducted interviews with producers and readers. Her research suggested that the swimsuit issues reinforced traditional gender roles and perpetuated a "climate ofhegemonic masculinity." Davis also argued that the magazine marginalized people of color, non-heterosexual individuals, and residents of lower-income countries. Additionally, Davis critiqued the magazine’s portrayal of models, suggesting it emphasized notions of femininity over athleticism by depicting them as dependent, emotionally vulnerable, and disconnected from the sporting context.[45]
Despite the success of the swimsuit edition, hundreds have cancelled their subscriptions due to it. The 1978 edition, remembered for its fishnet bathing suit made famous byCheryl 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.[46]
Beginning in the late 1980s,Sports Illustrated allowed television specials to be aired which were later released as video versions of itsSwimsuit Issue. The first releases were available onVHS orLaser Disc (LD), and later releases have been available onDVD.[62]
In 1989,The Making of the Sports Illustrated 25th Anniversary Swimsuit Issue was a television documentary byHBO which later became available on VHS by Maysles Films.[63]
In 1992, a behind-the-scenes made-for-HBO special documentary was released on VHS as theSports Illustrated Behind the Scenes: Official Swimsuit Video.[64]
In 1993,Sports Illustrated: The 1993 Swimsuit Video was released by HBO films.[65]
TheSports Illustrated 1994 Swimsuit Issue Video was released on video by Dakota North Entertainment.[66] Since then, the annual video version of theSports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue has been called theSwimsuit Video.
In 1995,Sports Illustrated began distributing television specials based on the issue, titledSports Illustrated Swimsuit Special. The hour-long specials have aired onSpike TV andTNT andMinisodes of several specials from 2002 to 2004 are available onCrackle.[67]
In 2004, theSports Illustrated 40th Anniversary Swimsuit Special: American Beauty featured videos of the swimsuit beauties at various US locations, some of which are not usually thought of as beaches: e.g., the hostMelissa Keller andMarisa Miller at thegrain elevator inBouton, Iowa, and on a farm nearPerry, Iowa. The more recent videos have included some "uncensored" scenes.[68]
Prior to the release of the 2011 issue,DirecTV aired a preview special on the 101 Network, revealing the models in that year's edition. The show was hosted byDan Patrick andMallory Snyder.
In 2017, the issue hosted its first everopen casting call where aspirants were asked to submit a 60-second video onInstagram.[70] The three-part seriesSports Illustrated Swim Search which documented the first ever open casting call withCamille Kostek as a winner (becoming a cover model in 2019) was made available on SI TV andAmazon Prime Video.[71] The following year, the model search held an in-person open casting call inMiami, and has been held annually since.[72][73]
In 2019, the magazine held a two-day exhibition in Miami which gave "fans the chance to experience the world ofSI Swim like never before through an array of one-of-a-kind installations, photo experiences," panels and talks among others.[74]
^Hoover, Elizabeth D. (July 5, 2006)."60 Years of Bikinis". American Heritage Inc. Archived fromthe original on September 9, 2007. RetrievedNovember 13, 2007.
^Davis, Laurel R., ed. (1997).The swimsuit issue and sport: hegemonic masculinity in Sports illustrated. SUNY series on sport, culture, and social relations. Albany: State University of New York Press.ISBN978-0-7914-3392-8.
Campbell, Jule, ed. (1995).The Best of the Swimsuit Supermodels. New York: Sports Illustrated Books.ISBN9781883013226. Published in both hardcover and softcover editions.
Editors ofSports Illustrated (1997).Around the World with the Swimsuit Supermodels. New York: Sports Illustrated Books.LCCN99191547.OCLC41211842.
Editors ofSports Illustrated (1999).The Best of the Swimsuit Supermodels 1964–1999. New York: Time, Inc. Collector's edition magazine.
Editors ofSports Illustrated (2002).Sports Illustrated Presents Ultimate Swimsuit 1964–2002. New York: Time, Inc.
Editors ofSports Illustrated (2011).Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Portfolio: Fantasy Islands. New York: Sports Illustrated Books.ISBN9781603202091.OCLC755072628.
Editors ofSports Illustrated (2009).Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Portfolio: The Explorers Edition. New York: Sports Illustrated Books.ISBN9781603200899.OCLC658199994.
Editors ofSports Illustrated (2013).Sports Illustrated Swimsuit: 50 Years of Beautiful. New York: Sports Illustrated Books.ISBN978-1618930811.OCLC827082812.
Editors ofSports Illustrated (2008).Sports Illustrated Swimsuit: The Complete Portfolio. New York: Sports Illustrated Books.ISBN9781603200417.OCLC502263177.
Hoffman, Steven (executive director) (2001).Sports Illustrated Knockouts: Five Decades of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Photography. Foreword by Frank Deford. New York: Sports Illustrated.ISBN9781929049479.
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