For Alix Earle, It’s All About Statement Hardware Where Swimwear Is Concerned

The two-time SI Swimsuit model always slays her beachside looks on set.

Alix Earle / Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images

It’s been a little over a week since Alix Earle earned her status as runner-up on Season 34 of Dancing With the Stars. She and her professional dance partner, Val Chmerkovskiy, may have narrowly missed out on bringing home the Mirrorball Trophy, but the 24-year-old content creator is no stranger to gleaming hardware.

When she initially posed for the SI Swimsuit Issue, Earle nabbed the title of our very first digital cover model in June 2024. She posed for photographer Yu Tsai in two separate photo shoots, both of which took place in her home base of Florida. The University of Miami graduate returned to the fold for the 2025 magazine, this time traveling to Jamaica, where she reunited with Yu Tsai.

Though Earle’s two brand features are markedly different where styling is concerned, one common theme rings true throughout both: Earle clearly gravitates toward a swimsuit with hardware. Below, we’re revisiting a few of our favorite looks with some special accents that truly make for a head-turning ensemble.

Earle in Florida in 2024

Alix Earle was photographed by Yu Tsai in Miami. Swimsuit by Oséree. / Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

As someone who has built her massive following—including 5.1 million followers on Instagram and another 8.1 million on TikTok—on being candid and real with her fans, Earle wanted her brand debut to be just as authentic, which is why she chose not to have any of her photographs from her digital cover retouched.

“I think as women, we do that so much, where we just criticize ourselves and I think when telling the story of my brand and communicating that to my audience and a new audience, this was just something that was an important decision for me and I’m really happy we went through with it,” Earle stated on TikTok shortly after her galleries were revealed.

Earle on the Swim Week Runway in 2024

Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images

The Hot Mess With Alix Earle podcast host strutted the runway for SI Swimsuit during Miami Swim Week just after her digital cover news broke. The deep blue Sommer Swim set Earle rocked at the W South Beach featured silver hardware on the top’s bust, while the model slung the string bottoms high on her hips.

Earle in Jamaica in 2025

Alix Earle was photographed by Yu Tsai in Jamaica. Swimsuit by Vesey. / Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

While posing for this year’s magazine, Earle modeled this gorgeous black two-piece by Vesey, a swimwear brand cofounded by SI Swimsuit’s fashion editor, Margot Zamet, and fashion assistant, Liz Wentworth. Basic black has never looked so good.

Whether she’s posing stateside or in the Caribbean, one thing is for certain: Earle is going to bring the heat, and she often does so while clad in beautifully-accented swimwear.