Eater - Martha Stewart, queen of the rebrand

Martha Stewart celebrating her cover issue at the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2023 Issue Release Party | Getty

Remember when SNL ran a sketch in which Ana Gasteyer was a topless Martha Stewart telling a gauzy camera what makes Christmas special, and the entire joke was the juxtaposition of the bare human body with the notorious persnicketiness of Martha Stewart’s brand? RIP to that joke. Stewart took another step in her rebrand from uptight New England hostess to That Bitch by posing for Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue, officially making her the oldest model (81) to pose for the magazine.

Good for her! She looks great! Of course, this isn’t totally alien territory to her; she worked as a model when she was in her 20s before starting a catering business and eventually publishing her first cookbook. But as she writes on Instagram, this certainly was new, and “I hope this cover inspires you to challenge yourself to try new things, no matter what stage of life you are in. Changing, evolving, and being fearless - those are all very good things, indeed.” Look at her go, frolicking in the water and lounging. She insists that she’s never had any plastic surgery, and drinks a lot of green juice. Okay!

Stewart has a remarkable knack for rebranding. Most food stars, whether contemporaneous with Stewart or the generation who came after, seem to have found their lane and stuck with it. On the one hand, it keeps you safe, but on the other, it can get you stuck. But Stewart has been able to go from caterer to denizen of good taste to Snoop Dogg BFF who jokes about smoking weed and getting tattoos to outsider art Instagrammer to swimsuit model.

Of course, some of the rebranding came out of necessity. It was hard to take the too-perfect facade seriously after Stewart was found guilty of felony charges of conspiracy to obstruct around a case of insider trading. But it wasn’t a guarantee her comeback would be so successful. Maybe, as a wealthy white woman, a financial scandal seemed almost preordained, and American society was primed to be forgiving. It’s hard to know how much is being too willing to give someone a second chance, and how much is Martha’s genuine talent and charm. But now I can say my go-to Thanksgiving turkey recipe came from an SI swimsuit model, so that’s cool. — Jaya Saxena, Eater correspondent

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