A Real Camille & Kalil Reveal

Neither my wish nor my prediction came true.

The model search winners — and newly minted 2019 rookies — are Camille Kostek and Haley Kalil.

They are both beautiful, and they both have wonderful, bikini-rocking hips. But, especially judging from the photo above, if you'd told me they were the same model, I'd probably believe you.

Their individual photos show more differentiation.

But dang. Especially if they were going to choose two models, Allie should have been one of them.
 

But they will make worthy additions to 2019. See you in about eleven months, ladies!

And SI: Hang on to Allie's phone number, okay?

Thumb-Hook Thursday: Lujan Fernandez, 2000

I've been focusing almost exclusively on the 2018 issue, and I think my takes have been winding down for the year. So let's head back 18(?!) years to view the lovely Lujan Fernandez.

The photos were so much smaller back then, with much fewer pixels per inch.

I just remembered, back in 2013 I ranked Lujan at number 28 on my all-time greatest swimsuit models list.

We've had five swimsuit issues since then. I sometimes wonder how different the list would be if I compiled it today. I have to imagine recent obsessions like Sara Sampaio and Hannah Ferguson would make it this time around. Rose Bertram? Lais Ribeiro? Barbara Palvin? Would Raven Lyn make it after one appearance or would I need a few more years of her to know?

And who would fall off? I always acknowledged the rankings were subject to whims, so it wouldn't necessarily be the bottom girls who disappeared.

Anyway, the beautiful girls keep coming. And despite the extracurricular material around this year's swimsuit issue, there's still plenty of obsession-worthy models to enjoy.

Grand Swimsuitification Theory

A few years ago, I extolled the virtues of Ashley Richardson’s extroversion, linking her with 40 other swimsuit models through SI’s multiple-girl shoots.

There’s another rich vein of connected models, but unfortunately it is mutually exclusive from Ashley’s.

You may remember Julie Henderson’s rookie year, in which she posed with Jessica White on the football field.

Julie also appears in this 3D video with Irina Shayk and Alyssa Miller.

And she pops up in this lovely black and white photo with Brooklyn Decker. The shot doesn’t appear in SI (and in fact there’s no swimsuit to be seen in the photo). But I found it on Walter Iooss’s website, and I can’t think of any other campaign those three people have all been part of, so I’m going to count it as an SI-adjacent photo.

Brooklyn, of course, is good friends with Chrissy Teigen, and this behind-the-scenes photo of the two of them is from an SI shoot.

And Chrissy’s cover provided a nice threesome with Lily Aldridge and Nina Agdal.

Nina disguised herself as Valeria Mazza alongside a Tyra Banks-ified Ariel Meredith.

Ariel took her Route 66 road trip with Ashley Smith, Hannah Ferguson, and Sara Sampaio.

And of course Sara’s rookie year paired her up with fellow rookie Gigi Hadid.

So we have a string of 13 girls. I wish there was a way to connect this group with Ashley Richardson’s group, but for now they remain mutually exclusive.

I could EASILY link them — and add lots more models — if I counted this “Legends” group photo. However, despite the bared midriffs and heaved cleavage, I consider these models to be fully clothed, so in my heart I must leave them apart.

(I also strongly suspect that not all the Legends are actually in the same shot. Kathy in particular looks Photoshopped in.)

Kathy Go Bragh

I'm taking a massive legal risk by posting this, but tradition is tradition.

Happy St. Patrick's Day, from Ireland.

One-Piece Wednesday: Gigi Hadid, 2016

And lest we forget, it's also One-Piece Wednesday.

I thought I'd share some suitable butt-celebratory shots of Gigi in a might-as-well-not-be-wearing-it swimsuit from her last year with the magazine.

Thanks for your service, Gigi. Hope this eases your heartbreak.

Butt Appreciation Day 2018

Over the last week, I called out Babs and Lais as competing for the coveted title of Swimsuitologist's Favorite Current Model. I thought I'd add a third contender. The knee-melting Vita Sidorkina.

In a couple of very special shots from 2018.

(SI. How many times do I have to tell you? Find a better place for your stupid logo.)

Anyway, I'd happily have this triumvirate as a nice, solid core of the swimsuit issue for the foreseeable future.

That’s the Way the Rookie Crumbles 2018

There was a pretty high retention rate from 2017 to 2018. Out of seven girls, five stuck around.

Bianca was the Rookie of the Year, so she was pretty much a lock.

Danielle, who I have to admit I thought was unlikely to return, came back with a great cover.

Lais, Myla, and Vita were three of my favorites, and I love having them back.

The newly minted one-hit wonders are Kelly Gale and Mia Kang.

I never got a chance to get into Mia Kang.

But Kelly Gale is a huge loss.

Miss her already.