NEW YORK (Reuters) —
Models Nina Agdal, Lily Aldridge and Chrissy Teigen were already at
the top of their game, but the trio say anything is possible after
gracing the cover of the Sports Illustrated 50th Anniversary
Swimsuit Edition that hit newsstands on Tuesday.
They joined an illustrious club of former swimsuit models,
including Christie Brinkley, Heidi Klum, Elle Macpherson and
Tyra Banks, with their topless cover photo that appears in the
most widely read edition of the magazine. It will be seen by
about 70 million readers in print and online.
"Doing a Sports Illustrated cover opens so many doors," said
Aldridge, a 28-year-old California brunette, who landed the
cover in her first shoot for the magazine.
She was already a Victoria's Secret model, the wife of Caleb
Followill of the Grammy-winning band Kings of Leon, and the
mother of their young daughter when she did the photo shoot last
October in the Cook Islands with 21-year-old Danish model Agdal
and fellow American Teigen, 28.
But Aldridge said being chosen for the cover was a huge surprise
and an amazing opportunity.
"You really can do anything," she told Reuters in an interview
with her cover mates. "You can start a brand. You can build a
company. It's incredible."
The group photo of Aldridge, Agdal and Teigen, smiling and arm
in arm, posing in bikini bottoms while peering over their
shoulders with their backs to the camera, is the first cover
since 2006 to have multiple models — and only the fifth in the
magazine's history.
Agdal is making her third appearance in the swimsuit issue, but
the 50th anniversary edition will be her first cover, along with
Teigen, who has been in every issue since her debut in 2010.
Although critics deride the annual swimsuit issue,
claiming it objectifies women and presents unrealistic images,
Teigen believes the magazine is inclusive.
"There are so many different types of women in the issue. We go down
the spectrum," she said. "People are always going to say things like
that, but honestly I think we represent many different
nationalities, many different sizes. That's what's special about the
magazine."
To mark the 50th anniversary, the magazine features 22 former models
and cover girls, including Babette March, who graced the first
swimsuit cover in 1964, 2010 cover model Brooklyn Decker, and Kate
Upton, who did back-to-back covers in 2012 and 2013.
Mattel Inc's Barbie doll, posing in her black-and-white swimsuit
from 1959, also makes her first appearance in the 50th anniversary
issue as part of a promotional campaign with the magazine.
