Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue (2025)

 

The 2025 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue came once again with multiple covers. I've never been a big fan of this concept, and instead prefer a one cover model per year approach. I remember in the past when revealing the cover of the issue was a big deal. Having multiple covers eliminates the specialness of that reveal. The multiple models approach is likely an attempt to sell more issues. I suppose in the grand scheme of things, in the age of digital editions, the actual cover of the physical edition of the magazine is less important. It's just a minor beef that I have with recent changes to the special edition magazine.

Moving past that minor quarrel, Olivia Dunne was one of the 4 cover models for the 2025 edition, and my favorite cover. This is her 3rd issue, and at this point is more famous for being a celebrity/model than athlete, but it is interesting that she is also a collegiate-level athlete. The other interesting cover of the 4 to me was Salma Hayek. I definitely did not anticipate seeing her appear in this issue, and good for her for appearing at age 58. 

On the concept of athletes appearing in the issue, this is not a new concept but I think this issue did a really good job of featuring current athletes. In addition to Dunne, Gabby Thomas and Nelly Korda were a couple of my favorites this year. 

One of the interesting changes with the issue that has occurred with the issue in the past year is the concept of digital covers. Gone are the days where the issue comes out once per year and otherwise nothing from the brand is heard from. Today's swimsuit issue is much more volatile, getting updates throughout the year in the form of digital covers. Unlike the idea of having multiple cover models on the physical issue each year, I like the idea of digital covers being released throughout the year. This allows for extra content throughout the year and keeps the brand and issue more relevant and fresh in people's minds. The fact that the cover is digital still keeps the physical issue important, and the once per season digital cover release seems like the correct cadence for this.

One of my favorite newer models from the issue has been Christen Goff (Harper), and she had a nice issue this year. I have featured her in previous posts about the issue, however, so instead I've decided to shift my focus on Penny Lane, a model who I've not featured in the past. This is Penny's second issue, and I'll be honest I think she flew under the radar a bit in her rookie season in '24. She had a really good set of photos for the 2025 issue, and stood out to me as one of the better collections for this year's issue.