Pirelli: The Calendar. 50 years and more @Taschen

Did you ever want to have a Pirelli calendar? I know I did. But how about all the Pirelli calendars? It seemed like a mirage until now, when TASCHEN published a retrospective of the most wanted calendar in the world. For short, 576 pages of beautiful images shot by Helmut Newton, Arthur Elgort, Richard Avedon, Mario Testino, Patrick Demarchelier, Karl Lagerfeld, Peter Lindberg, Mario Sorrenti… and the list could go on and on. But the exclusivist calendar (distributed every year only in a limited number of copies) it isn’t only about photographers; the models are the famous ones, as well (Alessandra Ambrosio, Gisele Bündchen, Naomi Campbell, Laetitia Casta, Cindy Crawford, Penélope Cruz, Milla Jovovich, Heidi Klum, Angela Lindvall, Sophia Loren, Kate Moss) and the location of the shootings were just amazing.

@ Dal Calendario PIRELLI, 2001, Mario Testino

The notoriously exclusive Pirelli Calendar, featuring glamorous shots of beautiful women, was first published in 1964. In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the now-legendary institution that is the Pirelli Calendar, TASCHEN brings you a retrospective volume reproducing the complete calendar. Bonus features include rarely and never-before-seen behind-the-scenes images of the shoots, the unpublished 1963 calendar, and a selection of “censored” images deemed too risqué by the editors of the time. With an introduction by Philippe Daverio and an interview with art directors Derek Forsyth and Martyn Walsh.

The last edition of TheCal, in 2015, had Steven Meisel as photographer and Carine Roitfeld stylist and featured some new models, like Gigi Hadid and Karen Elson, but also the first plus-size model, Candice Huffine. (www.taschen.com)

Photo: @ Dal Calendario PIRELLI, 2001, Mario Testino