#5: 2014 (Nina, Lily, Chrissy)
One of only five multi-girl covers in SI’s history.
When it was revealed, I liked how silly it was. It was the 50th anniversary, and a lot of gimmicks were in play. But they landed on the sweet simplicity of three smiling, topless girls. I also think it’s fun and sexy that they’re touching each other’s butts. Can’t lie.
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#4: 2017 (Kate)
Counting the three “collector’s covers” from 2017, Kate was on five covers this past decade. This was her best one.
Her first cover was criticized from all directions, including one fashion observer deeming it a “catastrophe.” (I disagree, but not THAT strongly.)
This one is interesting because, as one Twitter user pointed out, across three covers she is only wearing half of one swimsuit. That half is the cute little white bottom pictured here. (The rest of the “swimsuits” are vests, macramé, and a collection of necklaces.)
Extra cover trivia: It's Kate's second sleeved cover.
Her face is washed out, a victim of over-retouching I guess. But it’s a very nice survey of her body.
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#3: 2011 (Irina)
A couple weeks after this cover was revealed, I ranked it #8 on my list of all the covers. It holds up, even with the mannequin-ish edge to her face. A great bikini (which was featured in a lot of Hawaii shots that year) on a great body. Those breasts truly earn their place of honor on this cover.
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#2: 2018 (Danielle)
Considering I didn’t expect her to make a return after her 2017 rookie year, she gave us a pretty wonderful cover. The kinetic splashes around her adorable posterior make this a fun, care-free photo. It feels like a throwback to the 80s shots of my youth.
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#1: 2016 (Hailey)
One of my favorite models of the last decade gets a fun, beachy cover. A smiling, topless blonde in the surf. Very classic. You can almost smell the sunscreen.
2 comments:
I like your top two. Danielle is sexy and the shot has motion, while Hailey has that coquettish flirtatious smile that reminds me of the Jule era.
But just thinking about the last 10 years of covers has made me realize how recent covers just don't hold up to the classic ones. Maybe it's just that the girls aren't Elle or Christie or Paulina anymore. Or maybe it's that it's not Iooss, Lanker, Curto or Zimmerman shooting them. Or more probably the cover just doesn't mean as much period when people aren't buying physical copies. Hopefully there's something that's been worth waiting for next month. It's already been 8 months since the Wyoming shoot. It's time for some new content.
Yeah, I don't know what the secret sauce is of a great cover. If I knew more about photography or modeling I might have something intelligent to say. But I know what I like (Elle 1987, for example), and I don't know if the 80s/90s will ever come back.
The fact that I'm no longer in my teens probably has a lot to do with it as well.
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