Strutting your stuff this summer is going to be a bit more complicated than usual. Clearly, through no fault of our own, looking seductively insouciant on a beach is going to lose some of its appeal as we all adjust to a world of face masks and elbow bumping.
The carefree looks of summers past probably aren’t going to fulfill many sensible contemporary health and safety criteria.
However, even though the current global crisis has been a disaster for every industry that depends upon a degree of intimacy, lockdown living has provided time for some of us to get creative.
Many have started baking. Others have been crafting. And some, it turns out, have been recreating classic Sports Illustrated Swimsuit covers at home. Each unto their own.
The initiative has been officially sanctioned by the magazine itself under the hashtag #SwimsuitIconChallenge to celebrate its nearly 60-year history.
Across the country, dozens of different women have recreated iconic SI images at home, using homemade props, iPhones and anything else they can get their hands on. The result is dozens of different SI-inspired pictures, referencing models ranging from Kate Upton to Irina Shayk.
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model Paulina Porizkova Returns To Pose At Age 54:Even actual former Sports Illustrated models have joined in on the trend.
The 1982 Covergirl Carol Alt recently recreated a 2008 snap at the age of 59, declaring it a celebration of her own age as much as the magazine.
As she explained in an interview with the New York Post: "You just want to say ‘Hey, look, I work out, and I’m 60 freaking years old this year!’"
Understandably, recreating professionally shot images at home has its challenges. As software services operations manager Alyssa Suro explained, channeling her inner Elle McPherson was more difficult than it looked.
“It was a challenge to recreate the sunlight and beach setting since it was actually 2 a.m. in my bathroom. I used a ponytail holder to make adjustments to the suit, as Elle’s was missing one side,” Suro told the New York Post. “It was all about improvising and having fun with it.”
It might be a while before any of us are able to flaunt what we’ve got with any degree of normalcy. Given the circumstances, celebrating ourselves in the comfort of our own home seems like as good an idea as any.
