Contributors

Carl Hiaasen WRITER

In his distinguished career as a south Florida muckraker and
satirist, Carl Hiaasen has exposed shady developers and scamming
doctors, skewered crooked politicians and Disney World, and
immersed himself in the world of hit men, strippers and roadkill
connoisseurs. For this year's Swimsuit Issue, Hiaasen put a spin
on Heart of Darkness, imagining an SI cover shoot gone horribly
awry. For his research Hiaasen spent five days at an SI photo
shoot in Barbados and an afternoon in Miami with SI's Walter
Iooss Jr. "I wanted to absorb as much color as possible, and get
a sense of the challenges on these shoots," says the
award-winning Miami Herald columnist and author of eight
best-selling novels, including Sick Puppy and Basket Case, and a
children's book, Hoot. "That research was necessary because I'm a
fashion ignoramus--the only fashion label I'm familiar with is
Levi's."

Diane Smith SWIMSUIT EDITOR

Seven locations, five continents, six months--this year's issue
was the most ambitious undertaking in Diane Smith's five years as
the Swimsuit editor. "We wanted to go to the grandest, most
luxurious spots in the world," says Smith, who journeyed to all
seven locales, starting with Vietnam in August and ending with
Barbados in January. Smith also led the committee that had the
tough job of picking the 18 models in this issue, including five
new faces. "We always have to bring back the favorites," she
says, "and find newcomers who bring something we've never seen
before."

Austin Murphy WRITER

A regular contributor to this issue (this was his fifth Swimsuit
assignment), Austin Murphy was one of seven SI staffers
dispatched to write about the posh locales for this year's
shoots. Murphy, who has been a writer at SI for 19 years and
currently covers college football and adventure, spent five
extravagant days in the opulent--and extremely pricey--Sandy Lane
resort. "Swimsuit assignments are always surreal, but this one
was especially so," says Murphy. "I'm still wondering if I was
really there. I had to laugh when the hotel's doorman said to us
on the way out, 'Come again.' I could barely resist saying, As
if."

Walter Iooss Jr. PHOTOGRAPHER

For years SI photographer Walter Iooss Jr. had thought that the
tropical landscapes of Vietnam would make an intriguing backdrop
for a Swimsuit shoot. But after he arrived in August for his
two-week stay in Nha Trang, Iooss, who has been covering sports
for SI since 1961, realized that this would be one of the
toughest assignments of his career. In addition to the 100°
temperatures and 90% humidity, Iooss had to deal with a
government press liaison who shadowed his every step, as well as
unruly, swarming crowds of bystanders. "I had people crawling
through my legs as I took photos," says Iooss, who also
photographed Serena Williams in Miami for the issue. "The
conditions were brutal, some of the worst I've ever experienced."

Richie Fahey ILLUSTRATOR

Drawing his inspiration from the lurid covers of musty paperbacks
and detective pulp fiction, Richie Fahey hand-colors his
black-and-white photographs to create enigmatic tableaux. "I like
the idea of people not being able to figure out what time period
I'm presenting," says Fahey. For this issue he illustrated scenes
for Carl Hiaasen's novella, which is set in the Bahamas. For a
marathon one-day photo shoot, Fahey constructed elaborate sets in
a New York City studio. The detail-obsessed photographer (he
dumped 180 pounds of sand on his floor) is pleased with the
results, but can't get over one disappointment: He couldn't find
the figs he needed for the final image. "I looked everywhere," he
says, "but couldn't find any. So we used small pears."

Joanne Gair MAKEUP ARTIST/BODY PAINTER

Painting a detailed world map over the curves of model Rachel
Hunter is a delicate challenge, even for the world's preeminent
body painter. "Usually I show up, have the materials in front of
me and off I go," says Joanne Gair. "This project required major
homework." Gair, who painted 13 birthday suits for the 1999
Swimsuit Issue, spent two weeks mapping out her strategy for
fitting seven continents on Hunter. "Rachel was great," says the
New Zealander of their 10-hour session. "Since we're both Kiwis,
it was especially exciting to paint New Zealand and Australia
down under--on her butt."

COLOR PHOTO: DIANE SMITH

COLOR PHOTO: JOHN PEDEN

COLOR PHOTO: GAVIN BOND

COLOR PHOTO: WELCH GOLIGHTLY

COLOR PHOTO: RICHIE FAHEY

COLOR PHOTO: COURTESY OF JOANNE GAIR