She was born in July of 1998, which is disturbingly recent. That was the Heidi Klum cover year.
Sailor is beautiful. But would she have made that 1998 issue? Could she have held her own alongside Heidi, Tyra, Rebecca, Daniela, Stacey?
There are just SO MANY MODELS in every issue now. Which on one hand is great. You have this bacchanalian sense of being buried in swimsuit models.
But I think maybe a limit on the number would result in a more solid cream-of-the-crop.
The last ten years (2008-2017) gave us an average of just under 20 models per issue (not counting athletes, model searches, and other special guests). They first broke 20 in 2014 with that massive influx of 12 rookies, and they haven’t dipped below 20 since.
I thought I’d compare that to my first decade of swimsuit issues, the golden years of 1985 to 1994. The average for those years was just over 10 models per issue.
In fact, there were more rookies in 2014 than there were models in 1985 (6), 1986 (6), 1987 (7), 1991 (10), 1992 (10), or 1993 (11).
In addition, there are so many one-hit wonders and contest runners-up and casting-call hopefuls each year that I wish we’d had in the magazine today. (Sofia Resing, Daniela Lopez, Jasmine Tookes, Martha Hunt, I’m looking at all of you.)
Jasmine was a model search option in 2011.
The heart weeps.
I thought of a project for myself. What if I were to put together the ideal alternate-history 2018 swimsuit issue with models who could have conceivably found their way in?
My rules were that I could pick anyone who had either been an official model in the magazine or appeared as a model-search contestant. (No casting calls. Sorry Martha.)
And I set a challenge to keep it to 15 models: Halfway between the 10 from my youth and the 20 from today.
Here’s what I came up with. There were some hard choices. But I think this would be a solid 2018 swimsuit issue.
Barbara Palvin
Bo Krsmanovic
Cris Urena
Daniela Lopez
Hailey Clauson
Hannah Ferguson
Jasmine Tookes
Kelly Rohrbach
Lauren Mellor
Michelle Vawer
Myla Dalbesio
Rose Bertram
Sara Sampaio
Vita Sidorkina
There are eight 2017 models I’d include: Barbara, Bo, Hailey, Hannah, Lais, Myla, Rose, and Vita.
There’s a trio of one-hit wonders I’ve been holding a torch for: Cris, Lauren, and Michelle.
There are two model search contestants who didn’t win their model searches: Daniela and Jasmine. (I will say this: Jasmine is about ten times hotter now than she was as a model search girl.)
Jasmine then.
Jasmine now.
And finally, two girls who only came back for one more issue after they won Rookie of the Year: Kelly (one of my esoteric obsessions) and Sara (a no-brainer).
You might notice a lack of my girl Julie Henderson. I’m still sad she’s not appearing to me every February. But her first year was 2007, and I think even if she’d kept returning after 2013 she probably would have called it quits by now. I tried to make this list out of women who would grace the pages today.
(That said: Julie, if you’re listening, come out of hiding! I’d love to behold you one again!)
Kate Bock is a girl who I’ve unexpectedly gotten into, but she just missed the cut. So did Emily DiDonato. So did my two favorite painted contestants from 2017, Anne De Paula and Lisa Marie Jaftha. Kate Upton came up against a bevy of blonde girls and just missed the cut. But any of them could be switched in, and it would be a beautiful lineup.
The real issue is taking shape as we speak; shooting is underway. The mystery bodies (and not-so-mystery bodies) are trickling in.
I’m pretty excited by a young lady they just revealed by the name of Raven Lyn.
She’ll make a cornerstone to a solid 2018.
Onward to February!
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