Martha Stewart, at 81, this week becomes the oldest cover star ever to grace Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue was conceived in the mid-1960s by the then editor André Laguerre, who wanted to find a way to fill a slow winter month, February, when there was not much sport. Partly by dint of its only annual appearance, the swimsuit issue became a bellwether for the next big thing in modelling, and has made or cemented countless reputations, from Elle Macpherson to Tyra Banks. Banks was its first cover star of colour in 1997; Valentina Sampaio the first transgender cover star in 2020; Yumi Nu the first plus-sized model of Asian descent in 2022; Martha Stewart, of course, the first 81-year-old. If you want representation to stick, it has to be in the foundations and not just dressing in the windows.

Source: The Guardian May 17, 2023 23:59 UTC