Swimsuit Launch Week Diary Day 2: New York City --> Nashville

Andy Gray | Feb 10, 2015

Andy Gray/SI

Day 2 of Swimsuit Launch Week began much like the previous day -- with a bunch of models hanging out in a tent. The ending, however, was much different. In a span of 12 hours, the girls went from tent to red carpet to party to airport to private plane and finally to Nashville. It was a crazy day. Don't believe me? Check out the photos (and, of course, don't forget to check out all the actual 2015 swimsuit pics on SI.com).

MORE FROM LAUNCH WEEK:The Lead-Up | Day 1 | 2015 Swimsuit Photos

The tent opened at 11 a.m. and within 15 minutes, it was near capacity. Erin Heatherton found herself right in the middle of the action.

Gigi Hadid meets her fans. The #GiForce was well represented at Tent City. I asked Gigi in the early afternoon how many selfies she's taken with fans so far. She estimated about 300.

Nina Agdal and Samantha Hoopes strike a pose. I told Nina I wanted to shoot a short video and she was kind enough to do a little dance.

This is Derrick. Or maybe Derek. I forgot to ask him the correct spelling. Derrick/Derek was minding his own business walking down 6th Avenue when we (SwimDaily ace Kelsey and I) stopped him and asked if he wanted to get his face shaved by a Swimsuit model. We decided a couple days ago to find a random passerby who needed a shave, bring him to the Schick booth and let Chanel do her thing. Derrick/Derek was that passerby. Lucky guy.

Chrissy Teigen photobombs an otherwise lovely photo of Nina and Swimsuit Editor MJ Day.

Jessica Gomes and Rose Bertram take a selfie.

Ace photographer Sara Sampaio take a shot of Jess Gomes, Emily Ratajkowski and Irina Shayk.

Hannah Ferguson looks lovely as ever. There were about 200 people around her but you could never tell.

Erin talks to a fan at the autograph table. Speaking of Erin, don't forget to vote for the 2015 Rookie of the Year.

Sara has her game face on during a heated Connect Four battle. Then she saw my camera and struck a pose.

Rose and Chanel catch their breath between autograph sessions.

Ashley Smith meets a fan. I think they look like a good couple but Ashley insists she's not looking for anything serious right now.

How many SI Swimsuit cover models can fit on one couch? In this case, four (Chrissy, Nina, Hannah, Lily).

Samantha and Gigi strike a pose.

First-year model Kelly Rohrbach is very popular among fans.

Kate Bock and Emily Ratajkowski chat inside the tent. Kate makes great faces.

After the tents closed, the models went into prep mode (hair/makeup) for the launch party at Marquee. Here are some shots from the red carpet.

Marquee was rather dark and not really conducive to photos. Here's my view (from the very back of the room) of the models being introduced on stage.

At 9:30, the models left Marquee and boarded a shuttle to Newark Airport. Here's an action shot of Nina, Solveig, Sam and Lily getting off the bus.

Rose, Lily and Hannah arrive in Newark.

Hannah and Gigi arrive at the airport in Newark. Forgive them. It's been a long day.

Rose is excited about her chicken on a skewer.

At this point, everyone was a little delirious, which is the perfect time for a photo of Rose, Chanel, Sara and Chrissy.

By 10:30, it was time to board the plane. As luck would have it, Genevieve Morton was sitting in the first seat and ready for a photo.

I could not be more jealous of Erin and her big plate of skewers.

Ariel and Hannah are ready for takeoff.

After midnight (central time), the plane landed, everyone stumbled to the shuttle bus and to the hotel. Everyone was a zombie at this point and ready for bed. I'll be back tomorrow with the Day 3 wrap-up. Until then...

Published Feb 10, 2015