There's always a hubbub, among men at least, with the annual publication of Sports Illustrated magazine's swimsuit edition, and this year, West Seattle swimwear designer Heidi Fish has a couple of her swimsuits in there - pages 196 and 200.

Two of Fish's swimsuits are featured on model Julie Henderson in separate poses with the marching bands of the University of Southern California and Grambling State University in Louisiana.

Swimsuit designers don't just send in their favorite designs, Fish said. Sports Illustrated editors tell the designers to come up with new designs that follow a particular theme.

"You design to fit a story line they give you," Fish explained. She was instructed to create designs for a "sexy cheerleader" motif. The colors of the swimsuits also had to complement the red and gold uniforms of the Southern Cal Trojan Marching Band as well as black and gold to match the Grambling State Tiger Marching Band.

"For sports, this is the pinnacle of design," Fish said of her selection for publication in Sports Illustrated.

Fish was invited in May to submit designs for the 2007 edition. She caught the attention of the magazine's editors last year by submitting a swimsuit made of seashells.

"They liked my high-end couture," she chuckled.

Fish specializes in custom-made swimsuits. Recently she's taken a new design turn to create what she calls mastectomy swimsuits, for women who've had breasts removed.

Fish began selling bikinis in 1999 on the sidewalk across the street from Alki Beach. In 2003, she moved to a studio store in the Junction, at 4519 California Ave. S.W., upstairs in Suite C.