Hailey Clauson Calls This SI Swimsuit Feature the Most ‘Extreme’ Photo Shoot She’s Ever Done

The brand legend traveled to this icy location for the 2017 magazine.

Hailey Clauson was photographed by Walter Chin in Finland. / Walter Chin/Sports Illustrated

When Hailey Clauson first joined the SI Swimsuit family, it was 2015, and the model traveled to Hawai’i and the U.S. Virgin Islands for a swimsuit and bodypaint photo shoot, respectively. The following year, the 29-year-old California native returned to the fold and earned the cover of the 2016 SI Swimsuit Issue, following her stunning feature in Turks and Caicos.

Up until that point, Clauson’s work for the magazine involved bright sunny beaches and exotic locations. When it came to the 2017 issue, however, the model found herself somewhere quite different: Finland.

“We are in the snow in the North Pole,” Clauson stated while on set. “This is crazy, a lot different from our last shoot, but I’m still in a bathing suit.”

She expressed how fun working with photographer Walter Chin was for the occasion, as she appreciated the high-fashion element the visual artist brings to his work. And while all of the photos Clauson posed for in Finland are truly stunning, a few of the most striking are ones in which she posed topless on the back of a horse in the middle of a forest. Despite the cold, Clauson’s professionalism on set and her desire to get those “awesome, cool, iconic images” allowed her to power through the frigid temperatures.

“This is definitely the most extreme shoot I’ve ever done,” she added. “I’m so glad that this is my third year doing Sports Illustrated, so coming here is easy to just bang it out because you want to get out of the snow as fast as possible. It definitely takes a team that you know and trust and love to get you out here in the cold to shoot in a swimsuit.”

Since that “once-in-a-lifetime” feature, as Clauson referred to it, the Margaux the Agency co-owner and creative director has traveled to the likes of Kangaroo Island, Australia, Barbados and the Dominican Republic with SI Swimsuit. This year, she was deemed a brand legend, and participated in a group photo shoot alongside 26 other iconic women in Hollywood, Fla. The feature, captured by Yu Tsai, resulted in a group cover, marking Clauson’s second.

“I’ve grown up with Sports Illustrated, and now I get to be in this room with all these women that I’ve admired, women that I’ve grown up with at the same time,” Clauson stated while on set in the Sunshine State this spring. “It’s a very powerful moment.”

Below, find a few of our favorite snapshots from her 2017 SI Swimsuit Issue feature in Finland.

Walter Chin/Sports Illustrated

Walter Chin/Sports Illustrated

Walter Chin/Sports Illustrated

Walter Chin/Sports Illustrated

Walter Chin/Sports Illustrated