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Lauren Chan Discusses ‘Dismantling Beauty Ideal’ With Her SI Swimsuit Rookie Status

The Canadian model chatted with ‘People’ about her feature in next month’s annual publication.

Cara O’Bleness

Lauren Chan

Lauren Chan.

After being named SI Swimsuit’s newest model, Lauren Chan has penned a thoughtful essay for Vogue on coming out and shared behind-the-scenes content from her photo shoot in the Dominican Republic.

The Canadian model also chatted with People about her journey and why her rookie status means to much to her.

“I’m a size 14, I’m Asian and Middle Eastern, I’m queer, and I’m proud to be in the pages of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit in order to represent the continued dismantling of the beauty ideal—especially at a time where we are seeing a decrease in diversity on runways, in television, etc.,” Chan told the outlet.

The 2023 rookie, who is a former fashion writer and editor, is also an entrepreneur. Her luxury women’s wear brand, Henning, was founded in 2018 in order to promote size inclusivity in the fashion industry. The brand was recently acquired by Universal Standard, where Chan will join the team as head of brand partnerships.

“I feel like we all work so hard our entire lives to feel worthy of celebration,” Chan told SI Swimsuit regarding the concept of beauty. “I do feel like collectively we are in a moment where we are really celebrating people’s differences in what they have to say as a form of beauty.”

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

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Cara O’Bleness
CARA O’BLENESS

Cara is a trending news writer/editor for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit. A passionate writer and editor with more than 10 years of experience in print and online media, she loves storytelling and believes that words have the power to change the world. Prior to joining the team, Cara worked as a writer and editor across a number of content verticals, including food, lifestyle, health and wellness, and small business and entrepreneurship. In her free time, Cara loves reading, spending time with her family and making her way through Michigan’s many microbreweries. She is a graduate of Michigan State University's School of Journalism.

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