Sports Illustrated is known for its highly-anticipated and extremely popular Swimsuit Issue. It comes out every February and, this year, they celebrated their 50th anniversary of the swimsuit edition. The cover of the issue is always a big deal and has featured some of the most beautiful women in the entire world. Fashion models grace the covers wearing as little swimwear as possible in exotic locations. The cover is kept a secret, even from the models, until less than 24 hours before it is revealed, making it a surprise for almost everybody!
The swimsuit issue began in 1964 and was credited for making the bikini, which was invented in 1946, a legitimate piece of apparel. The best selling issue of all time was the 25th Anniversary Issue in 1989 with Kathy Ireland featured on the cover, but people believe this year's 50th anniversary issue could top that. Most of the covers feature just one model, but few have featured more than one, and those are typically very popular. The magazine encourages models to have a natural look with less makeup, toned muscles and curvy shapes in order to celebrate more natural looking girls and their personalities.
Famous models like Tyra Banks, Heidi Klum, Cheryl Tiegs and Christie Brinkley have been featured on the cover and Beyoncé, of course, even made the cover one year, for their music edition. The issue itself features page after page of beautiful models in bathing suits, mostly bikinis, and a few issues even featured models with bikinis that were painted on. Famous models like Cindy Crawford and Naomi Campbell have never been on the cover, but have been featured within the magazine.
The magazine’s editor, Andre Laguerre, invented the swimsuit issue to fill the winter months, which are particularly slow in the sporting calendar. The issue has become such a popular staple in the magazine world, and people look forward to its release all year. The swimsuit issue is said to have begun a new supermodel era, and these beautiful models continue to look amazing on the covers each and every year. With 50 issues, it’s hard to choose, but everybody has their favorite cover. Here are what TheCelebrityCafe.com believes are the top 10 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues of all time…