Swimsuitologist

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Those We Lost: Alyssa Miller

Kate Upton is now the last of her rookie class. Kenza and Shannan disappeared after one year, Izabel after two, and now Alyssa after three.

Alyssa is another surprise. She seemed like a great fit for SI. She combined the dark/sporty/fun intersection very nicely, and they even had her recreate Babette March’s first-ever cover.

Bon voyage, Alyssa!

2011

2012

2013

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Those We Lost: Jessica Perez

*Model search.

I was always a big fan of Jessica. She was one of my two favorites for the model search that introduced her to SI. And I thought she had a wonderful 2012.

Her 2013 was not as transcendent for me. They seemed to put her in skimpier suits that didn’t necessarily complement her figure: bottoms with a concave cut that wasted her wonderful circular hips, teeny tops that frankly would have been sexier with a little more coverage. (For example.)

Also, she seemed more sullen in 2013, which fought against her pixie charm.

So, I blame the wardrobe/photography/retouch departments for those photos, and I’ll miss her—I was a little surprised the she wasn’t back for another year.

2011

2012

2013

Monday, March 10, 2014

Those We Lost: Adaora

Normally, I’d be putting together a “That’s the Way the Rookie Crumbles” post, listing the rookies from 2013 who didn’t make it back for the 2014 issue. However, Kate, Natasha, Hannah, and Emily all came back.

So inspired by the Oscars, I thought I’d make this week an “in memoriam” reel, listing those models who graced the pages for two or more years, but did not return in 2014.

Adaora took a long path to the swimsuit issue. She competed in the 2005 model search reality show, but didn’t appear until 7 years later. She’s gorgeous—I love her enormous, almond-shaped eyes.

And she’s African American, which unfortunately is still a rarity in the swimsuit issue. Sometimes it seems like there are only so many slots available to them… For example, two black models made their debuts in 2009: Ariel Meredith and Damaris Lewis. Then Ariel disappeared and Damaris stuck around for 2010 and 2011. Then when Ariel returned in 2012, Damaris disappeared.

But Adaora’s two years were beautiful. She never seemed to be a breakout star, but she quietly put out a few dozen excellent shots.