Playboy, Inc., the US-based parent company of Honey Birdette, has launched a global digital casting call initiative ahead of the return of the Playboy magazine, with the Australian-born lingerie brand taking part in the prize pool.
‘The Great Playmate Search’ is set to identify the 2026 Playmate of the Month and inside cover star, a nod to a past tradition by the Playboy magazine, this time digitally driven.
Two winners will be selected from the competition.
The Playmate Pictorial Competition winner will be featured as Playmate of the Month in the Spring 2026 issue of Playboy, with a full pictorial photographed by a celebrity photographer, as well as inclusion in the official 2027 Playboy Calendar.
The winner will also receive a $25,000 cash prize and a prize package that includes an all-expenses-paid professional photoshoot, one year of premium Honey Birdette lingerie – a new set each month – and signature modelling opportunities with Playboy partners including Honey Birdette, Playboy Shop, and PSD.
On top of that, they will score the creation of a personal signature PSD collection featuring a dedicated photoshoot, name and photo on a signature product, 10 per cent royalties on all units sold, and placement across PSD’s network channels.
The Playmate Pictorial winner will also receive VIP access to PSD events. In addition, 20 runners-up will each receive a $350 Honey Birdette lingerie set.
In the second competition, the Inside Cover Competition, a winner will be awarded a feature on the inside cover of an upcoming issue of Playboy, also shot by a celebrity photographer. This winner will receive a $15,000 cash prize and a prize package that includes an all-expenses-paid photoshoot, one year of Honey Birdette lingerie – 12 premium sets – and modeling opportunities with Playboy partners.
Similar to the first competition, they will also win a personal signature PSD collection with royalties on all sales, and exclusive VIP event access. Twenty runners-up in this competition will also receive a $350 Honey Birdette lingerie set.
The Great Playmate Search has already begun, with registration open for eight weeks via online.
After the submission period, contestants will be voted on by their fans, with the final 50 advancing to appear before a panel of judges selected by Playboy.
The latest move by Playboy comes amid a challenging post-COVID for the lingerie brand, where sales have fallen in double digits. Direct-to-consumer revenue was US$16.3 million in the first quarter of 2025, down 13 per cent from the US$18.7 million in Q1 2024. The decrease in revenue was due to lower promotional activity in Q1 2025 for the Honey Birdette business.
According to Playboy, the recent decline in Honey Birdette revenue in Q1 2025 was solely related to cutting sale days and was offset by full price sales being up 8 per cent year-on-year, which now represent 80 per cent of Honey Birdette’s total sales, up from 65 per cent a year ago.
This recent update came after Playboy listed the lingerie retailer as a “discontinued operation” for a few months in late 2024, which meant all financial figures from the Honey Birdette were excluded from reports.
Playboy has since retained ownership of the brand, and is planning to rightsize revenue and margin challenges, with Honey Birdette’s gross margin in the fourth quarter of 2024 lifting 9 per cent amid a backtrack on promotions and discounting.