Thanks to Sports Illustrated's annual swimsuit issue, February has become the most anticipated month of all for most guys out there. Much to the world's surprise, Barbie made the cover wrap of this year's Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition, sparking a whole lot of debate from some concerned parents and outraged women. Regardless, the concept behind this particular Sports Illustrated cover is clever in that it connects the history of real-life models with Barbie's story.
Other magazines like Holland Herald also incorporated unconventional mediums into their covers, depicting common household objects and metalwork. On the other hand, magazines like Lucky Peach employed mostly illustration. All in all, it was a month of originality and bold moves. Check out the Coolest Magazine Covers of February 2014.
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15. Good
14. Dazed & Confused
13. New Philosopher
12. GUP magazine
11. Diplomat Magazine
10. Time Out London
9. La Luna de Metrópoli
8. LOVE magazine
7. AwardsLine
6. Sports Illustrated
Creative director: Christopher Hercik
Art director: Ed Truscio
Photo editor: Steve Fine
While Kate Upton may not have been too happy with this Sports Illustrated cover wrap, we applaud the brains behind the magazine for taking an unconventional approach. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the magazine's swimsuit edition, they featured Barbie on 1,000 copies of the issue.
Instead of real-life models in skimpy bikinis, Barbie stands proud and unapologetic in a new and improved version of the iconic black and white swimsuit she wore when first introduced to the world in 1959. While some critics argued that featuring the ultra slender, leggy Barbie on an SI cover might send the wrong message to adolescent girls, Mattel has spoken out, too. According to the toy company, this is simply the brand's way of celebrating supermodels like Tyra Banks and Heidi Klum, who "launched their careers in a swimsuit," just like Barbie. In other words, times have changed, and girls do whatever they want.
Here's an image of the actual SI cover: