Vogue and its editors -- specifically the head honcho, Anna Wintour -- have a tendency to develop crushes on athletes.
For a long time it was tennis players, as avid tennis fan Wintour cast the Williams sisters, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in Vogue shoots and sat beside Maria Sharapova and Andy Murray at Fashion Week. Then it was basketball stars, with Dwayne Wayne and Carmelo Anthony crowding the front row and Amar'e Stoudemire shooting an original Vogue.com video with Hamish Bowles.
Now it's Olympians, with Ryan Lochte still captivating the starry-eyed gaze of Vogue editors over a month after the London Olympics wrapped. The New York Post reports that the Olympic swimmer dined with a pack of Voguettes this week in New York City, followed by drinks with designer Richard Chai.
Lochte's already landed a Vogue cover (remember that "Baywatch"-esque photo shoot back in June?) but he's got good reason to stay in touch with his magazine contacts. His his much-feared fashion line is in the works and will likely be needing some support to get the bedazzled project off the ground.
Which means, much to our chagrin, that the goofy swimmer with the hot bod isn't going anywhere. This is one celeb who knows how to push the limits of his 15 minutes... and he's got Anna Wintour to help him do it.
Le sigh.
Check out Ryan's signature style:
