The annual Pirelli calendar, known in the motor and fashion industry as ‘The Cal’, has for more than 40 years been a high-fashion staple of pin-ups and supermodels in little to know clothing. But the 2016 calendar is leaving the bare breasts and behinds behind as world-renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz will photograph 13 inspirational women – fully clothed – instead.
As confirmed by the Italian tire company, the final roster of ‘Cal’ women includes musicians, actresses, writers, artists, sports stars, models, filmmakers, finance executives, and philanthropists, all selected by Leibovitz, who has been given full creative control. The calendar will feature, among others, Serene Williams, Amy Schumer, Yoko Ono, Ava DuVernay, and Patti Smith.
Serena Williams and Annie Leibovitz [Annie Leibovitz Studio]
In a statement released by the Pirelli team, Leibovitz explained her vision and direction for next year's release:"I started to think about the roles that women play, women who have achieved something. I wanted to make a classic set of portraits. I thought that the women should look strong but natural and I decided to keep it a very simple exercise of shooting in the studio. This calendar is so completely different. It is a departure. The idea was not to have any pretense in these pictures and be very straightforward."
This is Leibozitz’s second time shooting the iconic Pirelli calendar, having previously worked on the 2000 issue. The American photographer is one of only four women to have taken the Cal’s images, and is only one of 1o photographers to have shot two calendars since it debuted in 1964.
Conceptual artists and musician Yoko Ono [Annie Leibovitz Studio]
The 2016 calendar will be in stark contrast to the current 2015 one, in which Steven Meisel produced a classic pin-up themed calendar – including a plus-sized model for the first time in the Cal’s history.
Annie Leibovitz’s 2016 Pirelli calendar will be launched at the end of November, though Pirelli will upload the images to its website beginning on October 20th. You can see footage of the production of the calendar below:
