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THE GIRL NEXT DOOR: Model Anne V shows off her photo from the 2010 edition of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition.

The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition isn’t just about sexy to fashion designers lucky enough to make it in. There’s a loud ‘ka-ching’ for years to come.

“Everybody opens up that issue and goes, ‘Wow, where can I get this suit?’ We have a great response when it hits the newsstands,” said Simon Southwood, who expects seven of his suits to grace the famous pages.

Southwood has already presold to stores in anticipation of the big reveal on David Letterman’s show on February 14, followed by newsstand sales the next day. The location of the famous shoots and who makes the cover are top secret until then.

“Consumers love to follow what’s hot, what’s glamorous, what’s beautiful,” Southwood said. “The first question that the sales rep will ask is, ‘What did you get into Sports Illustrated this year?’”

Southwood and his Sauvage Swimwear are known for cutout designs that average $US200 ($NZ259) each. He has made it into the blockbuster edition for more than a decade, but getting in the first time around was up to luck.

“It’s kind of a crapshoot in a way,” Southwood said. “It’s just whatever catches their eye and what looks good on that model.”

Model Anne V, who has been in the past seven editions, considers herself a master of the distinct look that she describes as part sexy, part smiley.

“It’s very easy for us to do sexy. That’s our job to create a character that people want. Sports Illustrated, they don’t want just sexy. They want that girl-next-door look,” she said.

Designer Lisa Curran in New York has been in business for 12 years and in the issue every year except one. In the beginning, it really helped her business, providing her credibility as a designer.

“I think over time it translates into sales,” Curran said. “I also think it depends on the shot.”

Curran’s secret: She cuts bathing suits smaller just for Sports Illustrated. “Less is more for the issue. It doesn’t always translate into that for real life,” she said.

Her suits retail for $US160 to $US190 ($NZ207-$246). She tests them on real women, trying to design with fit in mind. “You will be surprised how many random people will email me and say they saw your swimsuit in Sports Illustrated.”

Sisters Michele Letarte Ross and Lisa Letarte Cabrinha run their bicoastal company Letarte with Michele in Fairfield, Connecticut, and Lisa in Maui, Hawaii. In 2005, one of their suits they’ve dubbed the candy red bikini was worn by Carolyn Murphy and selected for the cover.

That, the sisters said, is the Oscar of their industry.

“The cachet of being in Sports Illustrated is difficult to measure. It not only produces business, it elevated the brand to become a recognisable name in a very, very saturated industry,” Letarte Ross said.

This will be their 11th year getting in. Sometimes, the editors will call and request a special suit, like the one made of beer bottle caps. For a western shoot, they made a suit out of a Pendleton blanket.

“The majority of the pieces are straight out of our collection. That’s the one nice thing about the collection, we design for our consumer,” Letarte Ross said.

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