There’s really only one way to do a swimsuit issue correctly, and that’s with Kate Upton on the cover, duh.
The Sports Illustrated swimsuit model has come a long way since her 2011 appearance in the mag–she’s got a portfolio full of fashion front pages, AND an acting gig under her belt, but she’s still the bikini-clad girl with that body we all know and love, and this time, it’s on the cover of Vogue UK.
Shot by famed photographer Mario Testino in the Caribbean, Kate soaks up the sun and the sand in a floral ’50s-style two-piece from Dolce & Gabbana, all while channeling Marilyn Monroe. Inside the issue, she talks being compared to her fellow blonde bombshell, telling Alexa Chung:
“I always thought Marilyn was so beautiful and iconic, it was amazing to even be mentioned in the same sentence as her. But I feel like nowadays it’s easy to be genuine and show your personality, whereas I don’t think Marilyn had that opportunity. And clearly she had a dark side, and I don’t have that.”
What she does have, though, is the desire to be an inspiration for other girls with full figures:
“It’s weird that in the press they’ll be like, your biggest fight was with the industry and the designers, and I’m like, no, my biggest fight was with my agents, trying to get them to sign me into the castings,” Upton says. “I thought, how I’m going to come out of this will be an example for girls.”
The May issue hits stands later this month, but you can head on over to Vogue for more.
SOURCE & PHOTO CREDIT: VOGUE UK
