UK Edition
This 56-year-old from Nottingham is the oldest woman to grace the Sports Illustrated swimwear issue
Think of American magazine Sports Illustrated and ‘sport’ is perhaps the last thing to come to mind. Only bikini-clad twenty-somethings can hope to cover of the title’s annual swimsuit issue, helping to shift thousands of copies and launching the careers of pin-up models such as Kate Upton and Irina Shayk in the process, who view the assignment as a career game-changer.
But something is shifting at the Time Inc-owned publication, as is clear to see from the magazine’s adverts at least.
Nicky Griffin, a 56-year-old mother-of-two from Nottingham, has become the oldest woman to appear to in the magazine. Having never worn a bikini in her life, she poses confidently in a gold two-piece, emerging from the sea, her long grey hair slicked back.
Griffin was not personally handpicked by the magazine, but models for US swimsuit brand Swimsuits for All, who placed the advert in the issue. The brand also picked plus-size models Ashley Graham (29) and Philomena Kwao to model the exact same bikini in additional ads, showing that age and shape is no barrier to its celebration of body diversity.
Griffin said she was surprised that she was asked to model a bikini. “I thought they would put me in a [one-piece] bathing suit,” she told The Cut. “I’ve never even worn a bikini before. I just wouldn’t — but I will now. Swimsuits for All, their fabrics are very good quality and when you get older you need good, quality fabric. I was worried at first but when I put it on I felt really sexy and I felt, I can do this. I can honestly say that I would wear a bikini again.”
Behind the scenes on the Swimsuits for All shoot:
What’s interesting is Griffin’s back story: she only started modelling three years ago. It was while queuing in Barclays bank in Nottingham that her long, silver hair captured the attention of a representative of a local haircare company. White Hot Hair specialises in products for grey hair, and Griffin was signed up to model its products.
She has since modelled for several beauty brands and starred in TV adverts for lifestyle products – leaving little time for her day job, which involved organising exchange trips to England for Paris students.
Griffin was modelling freelance until she was signed two months ago by London modelling agency Milk. Company founder Anna Shillinglaw saw images of Nicola on Facebook, and says: "I had to reach out to her and see if she had an agency, and lucky for Milk she did not. Nicky has embraced everything I have thrown at her and is up for the challenge, which makes my job very easy. Nicky is an inspiration to woman and men of all ages, she is humanising our society and is now a global icon."
Griffin said that she was “very honoured” to be the oldest person to feature in the magazine, but rightly added: “‘old’ to me means when you’re 100.”
This casting adds to a deeper shift within the fashion industry: a slow but confident embrace of 40-plus models. It makes perfect sense for brands wanting to capture the attention of consumers who will naturally respond to imagery of aspirational women who are similar in age. That doesn’t mean that teenage models will find themselves out of work, but personalities with a rich story and life experience are being cast more frequently. And Griffin has mounds of that. As she says: “I’ve got my roundy tummy from having twins — I am as I am and that’s absolutely fine.”