Bar Refaeli: 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue Cover Model

Unless you're into the annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue, or interested in the world of modeling, the name Bar Refaeli might be very unfamiliar to you. That's all about to change, as Bar Refaeli was recently unveiled as the new cover model for the 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue. Bar Refaeli was not widely known prior to nabbing the cover of Sports Illustrated; she did participate in previous editions of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue, but most people know her as the girlfriend of actor Leonard DiCaprio.

So it seems that Bar Refaeli is poised on the edge of superstardom, with all this publicity for her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue cover. Bar Refaeli is certain to have her fifteen minutes of fame, but will it be long lasting? Will gracing the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue guarantee a high profile modeling career for Bar Refaeli, the flavor of the moment?

It looks like the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue doesn't have the clout it once had. Marisa Miller has been modeling for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue for years and recently landed the coveted spot as its cover model; however, Marisa Miller is certainly not a household name by any means, and Miller is mostly known as a popular model in the Victoria's Secret lingerie catalog and men's magazines like Maxim.

Gone are the glory days when supermodels like Dayle Haddon, Vendela, Kathy Ireland and Ashley Richardson cemented their high profile status as SI cover models. Nowadays, except for the female athletes, I don't recognize the names of most of the models seen in the 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue. I certainly had no idea who Bar Refaeli was until she landed this Sports Illustrated cover.

Years ago, when supermodels like Christie Brinkley, Cheryl Tiegs, Carol Alt, Elle Macpherson, and Paulina Porizkova were cover models for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue, it seemed like an event that was important to a modeling career. The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue was prestigious for these models, and landing a cover helped to elevate their status as superstars.

Some of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue covers were racy and pushed the envelope for their time (like Cheryl Tiegs wearing a see through swimsuit) but the whole idea of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue seemed harmless enough. Men and women bought the issue to see a beautiful travelogue starring the most important models of the year, and Sports Illustrated made some attempt to keep the issues within the boundaries of good taste.

In my opinion, the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue doesn't have the status it once occupied, for the public or the modeling world. No longer do people purchase that issue to see modeling superstars against a beautiful backdrop. The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue has seemed more and more like a traditional men's magazine in recent years. Bar Refaeli's SI cover look seems less like a wholesome smiling Christie Brinkley, and more like Pam Anderson or one of Hugh Hefner's girls next door.

This latest cover showing a barely covered and quite buxom Bar Refaeli tantalizes readers with the headline "Bikinis or Nothing?" and it all feels a little sleazy to me. I don't know many women anymore who purchase the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue, with its body paint and young barely clad models. In this more enlightened age, the magazine often comes across as sexist and exploitive.

The era of the supermodel is gone, so it's hard for one magazine to launch a model's career the way the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue did in the past for many women. Now models like Bar Refaeli may get a big payday and additional jobs for being on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue, but this honor will only likely land her more work as a bikini or lingerie model. How many recent Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue models that are relatively new faces like Bar Refaeli have broken out and landed editorial work or become a big name in the modeling world?

Bar Refaeli is a beautiful woman, but in my opinion, she lacks the charisma and magnetism of models like Paulina Porizkova. I don't see Bar Refaeli becoming a breakout star for her work in the 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue.

Time will tell how being on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue will affect Bar Refaeli's career, and if it will be a stepping stone to greater things for her. For more on Bar Refaeli, check her out on the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue, on newsstands now.

Source:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009_swimsuit/