Go Behind the Scenes of 2023 SI Swimsuit Rookie Lauren Chan’s Photo Shoot in the Dominican Republic

The Canadian model, entrepreneur and former fashion editor makes her debut in the magazine this May.

Lauren Chan was photographed by James Macari in the Dominican Republic.James Macari/Sports Illustrated

SI Swimsuit’s newest 2023 rookie, Lauren Chan, just took fans behind the scenes of her stunning photo shoot in the Dominican Republic. The Canadian model and entrepreneur makes her debut in the magazine this May. 

The BTS video featured clips of Chan’s fittings, snippets of her getting ready in the glam chair and on-set dancing montages with hairstylist Adam Maclay.

“It’s shoot day. It’s here. I’ve never been so happy to be awake at 4:30 in the morning,” Chan said in the video. “We are trekking on a little hike to get to a cenote. I don’t really know what to expect but I’m excited.”

The next few seconds of the video, which was shared as a joint post on Instagram between SI Swimsuit and Chan, featured the former Glamour fashion editor floating on her back in a crystal-clear private lagoon. She wore a hot pink bikini and held her position until photographer James Macari got the perfect snapshot.

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“Go behind the scenes of my @si_swimsuit shoot in the Dominican Republic. 🌈✨,” she captioned the Friday post. “👙-Video: @hayleykosan.”

Chan, who identifies as gay, recently opened up to her Instagram followers about how she was going through a divorce. She penned a personal essay for SI Swimsuit about what it has been like to find herself, start over and land a spot in the magazine all while in her 30s.

Chan said she aligns with SI Swimsuit’s dedication to diversity and inclusivity, and she has felt “really at home” being a rookie this year.

“We’ve evolved so much and I think that in fashion right now, we can kind of see a little bit of a slide back away from size inclusion,” she stated. “It’s important to remember to keep doing what we do because it’s up to us to keep that top of mind, keep pushing for inclusion, to keep reminding people that they’re not what they look like, so that we don’t get back there because there’s the very real potential to end up that way.”

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Meet Lauren Chan—read the 2023 SI Swimsuit rookie’s full feature profile here.

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