Sports Illustrated Swimsuit revealed its hotly-anticipated cover on Tuesday morning, unveiling relative newcomer Danielle Harrington as the lucky model to land the honor of posing on the front of the issue.
Danielle, 24, became only the third black woman to ever land the honor of posing on the cover of the annual issue, which launched in 1964.
However, she joins an impressive pair of women who also boast the accolade: Beyonce appeared on the cover in 2007, while supermodel Tyra Banks was the cover star in both 1996 and 1997.
Super star: Sports Illustrated Swimsuit revealed its 2018 cover on Tuesday morning, unveiling relative newcomer Danielle Herrington as its star
Beach babe: Danielle, 24, is only the third black woman to ever appear on the cover of the publication, joining Beyonce and Tyra Banks
Herrington first appeared in the magazine’s swimsuit issue last year when she was named as one of the publication’s Rookies.
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit editor MJ Day says that even though the issue was conceived and shot before the #MeToo movement heated up last fall, it’s about more than just women in swimsuits.
Day says the magazine is ‘creating and giving platforms to these women’ and presenting them as multidimensional people.
Indeed, the magazine debuted a #MeToo-inspired shoot just days before revealing its cover.
Lucky girl: The model’s shoot took place in the Bahamas, where many of this year’s stars were also photographed
Hanging out: Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Editor MJ Day described Danielle as an ‘extra hard worker and a natural brand ambassador’
High praise: MJ also noted that Danielle ‘owned every single second of her shoot’
In a sneak peek of the empowering spread, Sailor Brinkley Cook, Paulina Porizkova, and Robyn Lawley all posed completely nude with ‘truthful’ words painted on their bodies.
In the wake of the movement, Sailor, 19, Paulina, 52, and Robyn, 28, led a cast of models who stripped down and turned their bodies into canvases covered with words that represent how they see themselves.
The stunning black and white photos were shot by Taylor Ballantyne for the magazine’s ‘In Her Own Words’ project, which marks the ‘evolution’ of the iconic Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in the light of the ongoing push for women’s equality.
And while posing provocatively while nude might not immediately seem like a move away from the publication’s traditional projects, those behind the shoot insisted that the nakedness was a form of expression, allowing the models involved to express their ‘voice, strength and passion… in the rawest form’.
In the nude: Sailor Brinkley Cook (pictured) joined Paulina Porizkova, Robyn Lawley, and a cast of other models in a #MeToo-inspired shoot that was unveiled last week
Strike a pose: The words written on their bodies represent how they see themselves, and Robyn posed with ‘creative’ and ‘nurturer’ emblazoned on her upper body
Work of art: As part of SI’s ‘In Her Own Words’ project, Paulina (pictured) and the other models stripped down and turned their body into canvases covered with meaningful words
Learning to love herself: Sailor, 19, has been candid about her past struggles with body image, and she said the project helped her accept herself more
The intention was to use the kinds of images that readers expect from the magazine and then use those as a platform to deliver a more meaningful and empowering message. It is in fact the first time that a fully nude spread – which was shot by a female photographer – will run in the publication, which previously focused more on raunchy shots featuring risque swimwear.
‘In Her Own Words is a continuation and evolution of the essence of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit,’ the publication explained on its website. ‘It is a platform that allows the voice, the strength and the passion of these women to be expressed in the rawest form…on the naked body…with all the artistic and creative control left to them.’
In order to make the models feel as comfortable as possible in the face of the perhaps-daunting prospect of posing nude in front of cameras and a crew of people, the magazine ‘stripped down’ its studio and used a team comprised of only women for this particular shoot.
‘We handed over the control to the women who are our brand,’ it explained online. ‘We believed in, supported and encouraged them to become a canvas and share their truth.’