Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition 2012 - WOW !

     Boy – David Letterman really knows how to keep the guys up after the news.  On February 14, 2011 the top 10 was done by the Sports Illustrated swim suit models.  This was one of Letterman’s best ideas yet to keep the public staying up a little late.  Tho the model’s delivery was poor at best, they weren’t there to show their acting talents and they did their job perfectly.  Also that evening, a giant billboard in Times Square unveiled the 2012 cover of Kate Upton as the newest addition to SI Swimsuit covers.  I, like millions of others around the world, tuned in to Letterman and then purchased this issue of SII to check out the new swim wear designs and to see what lucky designers scantily cloth this year’s beauties.

       Let’s start at the beginning with a really brief history – it is interesting and obviously not without some controversy.

In the winter of 1964, Sports Illustrated magazine was in its usual sales slump. So the editorial staff at SI decided to try something new.  Fashion reporter Jule Campbell was chosen as SI’s first swimsuit editor and that changed the sport magazine for eternity. 

     Babette Marche, a model in a racy bikini was splashed across the cover for their new February issue and the very first SI swimsuit issue was a sellout.  From this point on the swimsuit edition became an annual winter tradition, having sports fans by the millions were waiting by their mailboxes for its delivery and mail men spending a bit of their lunch time catching up on the latest in the sporty world of swimwear.

     In 1983, SI rolled out its first swimsuit calendar. This was followed by a television documentary of Sports Illustrated's 25th Anniversary Swimsuit Issue. Over the next two decades, a compilation of videos, TV specials, trading cards, cell phone screen savers, and other secondary products have contributed to an additional $10 million in revenue.  Ms. Campbell must be so proud. 

     In 1997, SI's swimsuit edition received special-issue status. It has since become the single best-selling issue in Time Inc.'s magazine franchise.

     In 2005, the swimsuit issue brought in an estimated $35 MILLION in ad sales and today it generates 7 percent of Sports Illustrated's annual revenue, according to SI editor Terry McDonnell. The swimsuit issue isn't just a benefit to its advertisers — bikini and jewelry designers whose items are featured in the special issue also experience a major boost in sales. 

      Yep – here is yet another goal for Exposure Swimwear – a little hit in a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition.  We set our goals high and don’t plan on ever changing that. 

   

     The 2006 landmark "topless" cover featured models Veronica Varekova, Elle Macpherson, Rebecca Romijn, Rachel Hunter, Daniela Pestova, Elsa Benitez, Carolyn Murphy and Yamila Diaz. Inside, Heidi Klum was the featured photo spread and  to keep it fairly legit as a sports issue, tennis pro Maria Sharapova also appeared.  This cover may be a bit edgy but still done in great taste. 

     The models have gone electronic! In February 2011, Sport Illustrated also began selling its first-ever digital subscription apps, available on Google Android, which coincided with the release of its swimsuit issue. This year, Sports Illustrated and Sony released a half-hour "Swimsuit in 3-D" video, exclusively for PlayStation 3 owners available through the PlayStation store.

     During Jule Campbell’s 31-year reign from 1965 to 1996, Campbell transformed the publication from a daring little glossy section, featuring a few bikini-clad women into a commercial power house. Sports Illustrated can be credited with launching the era of the beach models, giving that all important break that boosted the careers of Tyra Banks, Christie Brinkley, Rachel Hunter, Elle Macpherson, Kathy Ireland and the many others who graced it’s cover. 

     Regular Sports Illustrated has more than three million subscribers and is read by about 23 million people a week.  The swimsuit issue traditionally sells more than 1 million copies on newsstands. This year, the magazine features Kate Upton and sells for $6.99 per copy.  Fortunately, fans no longer have to wait anxiously at their mailboxes for the hard copy, and enjoy almost instantaneous access to the swimsuit issue online - including model profiles, behind the scenes photo shoots and video clips, along with an entire archive of favorite editions.

                   

A few things that you can look forward to
A little something hot for the ladies - 

 

Fun with body paints -

and the cutest suits ever !

In the beginning . . . .

     So here is a brief list of the history of the bikini as found on a quick little Google search.

     1946: A two-piece swimsuit, named after the Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands, is invented by Paris engineer Louis Reard.

     1951: The bikini is banned from the Miss World pageant.

     1963: Annette Funicello wears a bikini in "Beach Party," which fuels the popularity of the swimsuit in America.

     1964: The bikini first graces the cover of Sports Illustrated 

     1993: The bikini is named the official uniform for women's Olympic beach volleyball, which spawns the popularity of the halter top sports bikini.

     Lets cover this a little better.  With a bit more research some interesting facts are found. No disrespect toward Annette Funicello, but she was not the first to make this style popular. An archaeological excavation of the ancient Roman villa near Piazza Armerina in Sicily, found a now famous mosaic of women exercising and running in an athletic type competition wearing skimpy 2 piece outfits similar to what we call bikini's.  This mosaic is now titled "bikini girls".  

By the early 1940's, stars such as Lana Turner, Rita Hayworth and Ava Gardner were frequenting the beaches in two piece swimsuits that insulted much of the conservative population while men's jaws dropped and young women were thumbing the catalogs to place orders for their own.  Even the average house wife, just like this lady to the right, my friend Patricia Pestalozzi, with a bold attitude, confidence in herself and an understanding husband, found themselves enjoying the skin revealing beach wear.

In 1947, My Favorite Brunette, staring Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour it the big screen and perhaps spun a new light on the revealing fashion. The rib cage was revealed and there was no turning back.

      

      The bikini was in print, on screen and in 1960, Brian Hyland released "Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polkadot Bikini" to the airwaves.  By August the song hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100.  This song has survived generations of air play and can be heard in connection with many product commercials.

     The bikini's popularity rose as the waist line dropped.  In 1962, Ursula Andress emerged from the sea in the famous white bikini, in James Bond's Dr. No.  1965 brought America's beach sweetheart, Annette Funicello to the screen in a new style, low cut bikini in How To Stuff a Wild Bikini. And in 1966 Raquel Welch's posters were plastered to young men's walls all around the world wearing her tattered skin bikini in One Million Years B.C..  Truth be know, many of those posters are still hanging on garage and 'man cave' wall everywhere.
   
     Miss America allowed contestants to wear two piece swimsuits in 1997.  This was the first time in it's 77 year history that participants were given  the option of wearing a one-piece or the more revealing two piece.  This was a difficult decision since 15% of the overall score was based on this part of the competition.  If you can't pull off the confidence and the strut in those heels, you could destroy your chances of a win.    

     Not a lot has changed in the bikini over the past 50 years with the exception of fabric content,  amount of coverage,variety of sizes, acceptable ages and acceptable areas to wear them. OK - I guess there are quite a few changes but the bottom line is, the bikini is here to stay.  We at Exposure Swimwear want to thank Louis Reard for the island called Bikini Atoll for sharing it's name.    

     Just a little note - when I Googled Bikini Atoll, much to my surprise, there was only one picture of a woman in a bikini and one naked man on the beach - not together.  All the pictures were of ocean life and mostly of atomic and h-bomb explosions.  Kinda of a mood crusher.  Not highly recommended unless you just want to scroll down to see the naked guy - not that exciting either.

     But you may want to take the time to read a little bit about Louis Reard.  His story is pretty darn interesting.