A Breath of Fresh Erin

Let’s talk about Erin Heatherton.

At first glance, her photos are a little… odd? She has real wavy, almost frizzy hair that’s a jolt from the flowing locks she sports elsewhere.

But the more I look at them, the sexier I find them. They’re very warm and disarming. In fact, I’d now rank Erin’s shoot as one of my favorites from this year. I’m getting a late-80s/early-90s Rachel Hunter vibe.

I think that might be the thinking behind her whole look in this issue. The sunny feel, the natural and freckled face, the sky-high cut of this bikini bottom.

Once you get into that mental groove, the photos all fall into place and make sense.

Well, almost all of them. I can’t figure out what to make of this:

I think it was meant as a bold, weird experiment that MIGHT end up being iconic and MIGHT end up looking like a sexy Captain Caveman Halloween costume.

• • •

As long as we’re listing critiques…

Do we really need so many nearly-but-not-quite-identical shots? There seemed to be quite a spate of them this year.

Are we really still doing the “bikini model standing next to a native” thing?

And finally, I know I’m the only person who cares about this, but haven’t we figured out a better placement for SI logos?

(On a happier note, I predicted the luscious Barbara Palvin! Welcome, Babs. I’m splitting my Rookie of the Year voting between her and Sofia.)

But all in all, I’m real happy with this year’s offering.

(And Emily here, with her swimsuit straps wrapped around her wrists, is giving me a little something to fantasize about, right?)

Back into hiding!