Swimsuit

The Story Behind the Gorgeous SI Swimsuit Photo of Gigi Hadid and a Horse in Hawai’i

The model was featured in the magazine in 2014, ’15 and ’16.

Ananya Panchal

Gigi Hadid was photographed by Yu Tsai in Kauai, Hawai’i.

Gigi Hadid is a horse girl at heart. So when she got to model with a horse during her 2015 SI Swimsuit photo shoot in Kauai, Hawai’i, she was beyond excited and honored.

“On the shoot, I got to do something really special. I got to shoot with horses,” she said at the time. “The brown horse and I definitely had a connection. He just kind of took to me really quickly.”

Gigi Hadid was photographed by Yu Tsai in Kauai, Hawaii.

Gigi Hadid was photographed by Yu Tsai in Kauai, Hawaii.

The mom of one made her SI Swimsuit debut after being photographed in Jersey Shore in 2014 and was featured in the publication three years in a row. Her most recent photo shoot was in Tahiti in ’16.

“I’m so excited to be back. It’s absolutely surreal. I can’t believe that I’m here,” the Guest In Residence founder gushed. “I feel like I’m working really hard for every picture. A day on set is a lot more than what people think it is. It’s not just putting on bathing suit and running around the beach for 10 minutes and then putting on a different one and doing it again. You’re asked to do things that may look really great in a picture but aren’t comfortable to do, and you kinda have to make it look effortless. At the end of the day, I’m really blessed to be working with people like the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit crew [who] I really love because they make it a great day.”

The 27-year-old added that she loved working with photographer Yu Tsai because he was energetic, creative and fun to have on set.

“Yu Tsai is such an artistic person,” the Next in Fashion star added. “He can just look at something and see the beauty in it and be able to take that and be spontaneous with it. He’s just such a character.”

Gigi Hadid was photographed by Yu Tsai in Kauai, Hawai’i.

Here are a few more of our favorite photos from Hadid’s 2015 photo shoot in Kauai, Hawai’i.

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MTY5MjQzMjU4MjQ4NTA0NjA5
MTY5MjQzMjU4NTA5NDAzNDI1

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Ananya Panchal
ANANYA PANCHAL

Ananya Panchal is a writer on the Lifestyle and Trending News team for SI Swimsuit. Before joining SI Swimsuit in 2022, she worked at Bustle, the San Francisco Chronicle and the TODAY Show. When she is not writing or doom-scrolling on social media, Panchal can be found playing sudoku, rewatching One Tree Hill or trying new restaurants. She's also a coffee and chocolate (separately) enthusiast. Panchal has a bachelor’s in communications and journalism from Boston University.

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