FROM THE PUBLISHER

Senior editor Jule Campbell is indispensable in producing our annual swimsuit issue, but she freely admits that she often needs a helping hand. This was particularly true with this 25th anniversary special issue, which contains not one but seven swimsuit photo acts, shot in Florida, Hawaii, Utah and five foreign countries.

To organize the far-flung shoots, Campbell and her two assistants, Ann Gallagher and Christy Walker, had to coordinate the comings and goings of 15 models, six photographers, six photo assistants and three hair stylists. They made sure that the right people—not to mention equipment, tickets, passports and visas—were in the right places at the right times. They logged in, packed and obtained customs clearance for 800 suits from 70 manufacturers. Sometimes they had to lug props and camera gear. Yet the 54 swimsuit photos in this issue make their six months of labor look like, well, a day at the beach.

Campbell was on hand for all the shoots but one, and she was always joined by at least one of her assistants. Gallagher, who journeyed to Florida, Kenya, the Seychelles, Hawaii, Utah and Mexico, is a five-year veteran of the swimsuit issue. "This job needs organizational skills," she says. "You get them raising three children."

Walker, who went to St. Barts, Australia, Florida and Mexico, came to SI from the LIFE picture collection last July. "I was warned that all the travel wasn't as glamorous as it sounds, and I thought, Oh, sure," she says. "But it was really demanding. I found myself in these fabulous places, dreaming of going back to bed."

Everybody knows that photographers and models are essential to a swimsuit shoot, but what about those three hairstylists? One was Didier Malige, who, at Christie Brinkley's request, went to Kenya. Another was Maury Hopson, a friend of Cheryl Tiegs's, who tussled with Tiegian tresses in the Seychelles. Finally, there was Francois Ilnseher, who was along for most of the shoots and who, when he wasn't fussing with the models' hair and makeup, cheerfully held reflectors and rubbed sore necks.

Thus assisted, Campbell put another swimsuit issue safely to bed, then sought some hard-earned R and R. And exactly what does this veteran of so many trips to so many exotic holiday destinations do when she takes a vacation? She goes home to her farm in Flemington, N.J.

PHOTO

ROB KINMOUTH

CAMPBELL WAS ABLY BACKED BY WALKER (LEFT) AND GALLAGHER