The Making of the 2026 SI Swimsuit Runway Show

Take a peek behind the curtain with host Kate Love during the SI Swimsuit Runway Show from Swim Week on Saturday, May 30. In case you haven’t seen the action yet, tune in to the full show on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+.

TRANSCRIPT

Everyone stop. We have to get it together, we have to be professional. Let's line up, and we're gonna do it for real.

This is a huge moment.

Hi, I'm Kate Love, and I'm here with Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, and I'm gonna take you behind the scenes and show you what goes into a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Runway Show. O.K., this is where the girls do their fitting. It a gifting lounge. They get all sorts of treatments. This is where the magic happens.

We have swim, but we also have accessories. There's hats, there's jewelry, there's so many things to pull from, which is so fun. Maybe we're gonna take a little secret peek here at girls doing fittings.

They take Polaroids of each look, put them on the wall, and then they'll order them, depending on their theme and the vibe.

That's a great hat, sailor. That looks, that is so good. Oh, gold is your color.

So the camera's, like, here? You're gonna walk close to lens as possible. Here they go.

How are you? Thank you so much for having me. I literally have SI on my vision board. So I'm, like, so excited. I just don't know what to expect, 'cause it's, like, so different to what I've ever done.

I have manifested something Sports Illustrated for literally three years. So the fact that we're here, I'm in this fitting. I could cry. I was, like, emotional flying, even to Miami. This is a dream come true.

How do we feel about walking in a swim show? I'm excited. I think it's a lot of commotion and emotion. Don't miss the Crocs. Is that good? Is that good?

This is actually my heaven.

We're wrapping up fittings for tonight, tomorrow, there are more fittings in the day. There's a beach club.

This is the hottest place in Miami, and I'm not talking about the heat.

There's a welcome dinner.

Hey, guys, let's party.

And everyone's got to get their nerves in line for the show on Saturday. I cannot wait.

And then they're just finishing peeling this off, um, and then Danny is our, um, choreographer, who my coach, she's gonna walk you guys through the process of the evening.

Currently being taught by a movement coach, it's getting serious. So we're gonna go through the opening really quick.

One, two, three, four, five. I cue you first. Yep. Cool, go. I’ll cue, you know, this girl second, I'll go third. Yeah, and you're just like, you can dance, stay in your spot, turn in. Cute. So you can do something with Penny, whatever, boom. She'll leave. O.K. Then we'll go probably right where that guy is.

Down this way. Boom, boom, boom. Just feel heavy and wet. Exactly. Yes, yes, yes, keep going.

Keep going. One, two, two. Oh, sorry, three, four, and then leave.

We just... feeling amazing. We just, we’re kind of speechless right now. We saw the stage for the first time.

It was iconic. And by the way, having a movement coach is everything. That's a first time that we've had a movement coach, and I feel like it's just so much better, because you know what you're doing.

Exactly. This is organized, we feel good. Yes.

Everyone stop for one second.

The chaos has begun, it’s the day of the show and we're in glam. Let's go!

It's like 10 seconds. Let take some deep breaths. Ready?

Oh, I need that. Ready. Close your eyes. Breathe in.

O.K., so reporting live on show day. It's been a bit of a haul to get here, as you can see, we have lots of swimsuits around us, lots of accessories. We have fit, I think, 38 girls now, so that's a lot. It’s evolving, we’re sweating, we’re nervous, but it's going really well.

We take you on the house tour. Over here, we have our beautiful, oh, this used to have swimsuits on it, and now it has hair. Then we have nautical pin up here, biker baddies. It's really fun. We also had all these custom suits that say, like, sports on the boobs, or sports on the butt, illustrated. Just, like, a ton of custom stuff for that, which is really cute, and the girls look amazing and hot in that.

We are backstage, almost ready to go out there, and or go for the dress for the rehearsal. I'm very excited. This is your third time. This is my third time. I feel a lot more at ease this year.

When you actually step out there, you're like, I am, it's, like, Beyoncé, Sasha Fierce. She just, like, turn into another person, like, an animal.

For real now, let’s do it again!

It feels amazing, a little slick, but that's O.K. Yeah, there’s a big possibility it could be raining, stage could be wet, so we have to get it together, we have to be professional.

We are at the dress rehearsal for the SI Swimsuit Runway Show. This is very exciting. It's the first time we have everyone walking down the runway. It is a little bit wet, a little bit slick, but they are mastering the runway. So this is, like, a good test.

Are they gonna do it again? No, they not. Let's line up and we're gonna do it for real. We're feeling confident, and we like that.

I'm trying to get by, I actually have, like, a cramp. I'm thinking about getting them little things that they put on the bottom of a high heel shoes on the bottom of my feet, so I can get some traction. They're looking chic and feeling sexy while wearing shower caps, which is, honestly, an extra skill.

So, clap for my girls out there, four hours till showtime. The girls are gonna head back into glam. We gonna interview them while they're getting ready, see what the vibes are. Get a pulse on the whole situation, and then head back here for showtime at 8:00.

The vibes are getting a little bit crazy. The energy has lifted. Everyone's putting their swimsuits on. Everybody is glowing. It got a lot louder in here, and everyone is so excited.

Follow me. They're all kind of, like, just putting on their swimsuits for the first time. We're an hour until showtime, so let's see if we can chat with anybody.

I feel amazing. I'm, like, so, so excited this year. I just feel like the energy backstage is incredible. Everyone is just so supportive.

Whoo! SI, baby.

We're feeling a lot better now. I feel like I've had the time to let it, like, really sink in.

What?

I'm getting nervous.

Do I put the Vaseline glow on top of the body makeup? Is that O.K.?

Let's consult a makeup artist.

I'm everything. I'm so excited. I think walking it with my sisters is such blessings, it calms the nerves?

Yay! It's so nice to have so many folks here who are SI legends, you're here, Molly Sims is here. We got amazing performers. We've got a bunch of new girls, there's athletes, like, the crew is just so strong this year. So much crew love.

Yes, yes. O.K., they just called the girls for the runway. Everyone is very excited. Everyone's getting their last minute glow bomb being put on, spray being sprayed, lip being applied, and they're heading to the runway. It’s go time. Let’s go!

This is a huge moment for me, for all of my team, for Sports Illustrated, for EverWonder, for Hulu, and most importantly, for you guys, thank you so much for being here. We've never had a moment or an opportunity like this. And I'm so happy that a more beautiful group of women, both inside and out, couldn't be the ones that are going to illustrate that to the world. So thank you so much for being here and just being beautiful humans and supporting us and supporting each other, and, like, really standing up for women all in every way that you do. Break a leg, kill it. Thank you, guys. We love you so much. Let's turn this mother out.

It's getting crazy back here, so I think we got to get out of here and get our seats so we can watch this show.

We did it!

What a night.

Thank you for following along all day. It's been crazy. I think everyone has been through all the emotions of the rainbow. We're so excited to have had such a good show, and we're all just gonna go have a good time now. So thanks so much, and we'll see you next time.

Baby, that was amazing. Absolute cinema, ten out of ten. Sports Illustrated, I’ll see you at the beach.