Brooklyn Decker Reflects on the Power of Storytelling With SI Swimsuit

The American model has been working with the brand since 2006.

Brooklyn Decker was photographed by Yu Tsai in Hollywood, Fla. / Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

It’s easy to say that Brooklyn Decker is an SI Swimsuit legend. Her journey with the brand began back in 2006, when she traveled to Colombia for her debut and earned Rookie of the Year honors. She proceeded to appear on the pages of the annual magazine every year through 2011. Of course, she returned again to the magazine just three years later, posing for the 50th anniversary photo shoot in 2014.

This year, she’s back again to celebrate 60 years of the magazine. A few months back, she traveled to the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla., to pose for the 60th anniversary feature. It was somewhat of a full-circle moment for the 37-year-old, as she was just 18 when she made her debut. Now, almost 20 years later, she’s back again to celebrate the brand and the part she has played in building it.

For Decker, it’s not hard to understand why the annual issue is so memorable. She attributes it to the role women play in bringing it together.

“The SI swimsuit issue, since the very beginning in 1964 has always been edited by a woman,” she wrote on Instagram. “Casting, locations, styling, all of it selected by women, and I think that’s a big reason why we remember issues, models, images— it’s about so much more than just a face or body: it’s about who she is, where she’s from, what she’s doing with her life, what story she wants to tell.”

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This year marks “60 years of story telling” led by a female team. That, according to Decker, is “an absolute triumph.”