Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue
The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue is published annually by Sports Illustrated magazine. It features top fashion models wearing designer swimwear in exotic locales. New issues come out around the middle of February or later. It was first published in 1964. The issue that got the most letters was the 1978 issue.[1] The best selling issue was the 25th Anniversary Issue with Kathy Ireland on the cover in 1989.[2]
Through the years famous supermodels have been featured on the cover such as Cheryl Tiegs, Christie Brinkley, Paulina Porizkova, Elle Macpherson, Rachel Hunter, Valeria Mazza, Heidi Klum and Tyra Banks. Other famous models who appeared within its pages, but not on its cover, have included Cindy Crawford, Stephanie Seymour, Angie Everhart, and Stacey Williams. The eight models that were featured on the cover of the 2006 SI Swimsuit Issue were featured in a coffee table book called Sports Illustrated: Exposure (ISBN 978-1-933405-85-8). Photographed by Raphael Mazzucco, and produced by Diane Smith, the unprecedented “reunion shoot” featured 139 pages of never before seen images.
