Instead of splashing in the water and playing in the waves, Sports Illustrated visited the Arizona desert for its cover in 1967.
The cover model was Marilyn Tindall, and if there is any cover that could be released in modern day, it’s this one. The Dacron knit swimsuit was designed by Bill Blass for Roxanne and sold for $28 at the time of this photoshoot. Quite a bargain compared to red cut out suits like Herve Leger’s that sell for more than $700 or the one Michelle Vawer wore in this year’s issue from Dye Swimwear, for $385.
Each morning Marilyn would wake up at 4 a.m. to begin shooting in the morning light at Arizona’s Apache Lake. The models did their own makeup and Marilyn was always at odds with the shoot’s editor who said she was wearing way too much mascara. Marilyn was a shy young woman who simply said that she didn’t feel comfortable without it. On the last day when Marilyn and the crew were exhausted, she woke up and was too tired to put on her makeup. This was the morning this cover shot was captured.
