Go Behind the Scenes With Lauren Chan As She Gets Glam for the SI Swimsuit Red Carpet

The 2025 cover model dazzled in a sparkly black gown, matching heels and bleached brows.

Lauren Chan / Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images/Sports Illustrated

Lauren Chan nails any red carpet she steps foot on, thanks to her unique and personal sense of style. The 2025 SI Swimsuit Issue launch event in New York City last month was no exception, where she opted for a sparkly black Mitiliane dress paired with classic Naturalizer heels.

For the occasion, she was styled by SI Swimsuit’s fashion editor Margot Zamet. As for glam, Chan worked with makeup artist Alex Levy (who helped her achieve a bold bleached brow) and hairstylist Sergio Estrada (who opted for an up-do with some major side bang).

Chan, a former editor at Glamour, took fans behind the scenes as she filmed a “get ready with me” video ahead of the red carpet on May 15. The Canadian model, who has posed for the SI Swimsuit Issue three years in a row, expressed that her ensemble for the evening was a representation of the inner confidence she has cultivated in recent years.

“The look is a little bit of shock factor, freaky, still high glam,” she explained. “I love everything that is going on in the culture with women taking back their power, and so we shaved the brows—we bleached them—but yeah, I wanted to feel powerful, I wanted to feel different.”

When Chan first graced the pages of the SI Swimsuit Issue back in 2023, she penned an essay in which she came out, opened up about her divorce and spoke about living authentically. Two years later, she is thriving in that authenticity.

Lauren Chan / Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images/Sports Illustrated

“I hope that my cover resonates with people because I really want to show that amazing things can happen when you live your most authentic, vulnerable life,” she said while reflecting on her photo shoot in Bermuda. “You know, I’ve cut my heart open on these platforms over the past three years. I’ve talked about coming out, getting divorced and selling my business, getting engaged, and it’s all been quote-unquote rewarded with this extra level of platform to reach more of you and tell you that you, too, can be here by crafting the life that is truest to what you really want.”

Check out Chan’s full 2025 SI Swimsuit Issue gallery here.