2016 Pirelli Calendar

Pirelli Calendar is a part of history. It managed to grasp zeitgeist of many turbulent decades and become a legend on its own. Famous for celebrating beauty and often having most stunning ladies captured by world renown photographers, the calendar became famous for certain type of images. But, for 2016 Pirelli Calendar is changing the game once again, celebrating women for who they are and not just for their outside beauty.

Photographed by another legendary woman, 13 ladies got to reveal themselves through the lens of Annie Leibovitz. But, this time, it was not about showing skin for the sake of it. It was about showcasing women from various professions and celebrating them for their achievements. And the list is an amazing mix of inspirational figures from many different fields and different generations. Each of them portrays her own story and together they represent strength, courage, creativity, power and many other qualities that the world should aspire to. Shown in statuesque black and white portraits, all the ladies were captured in special moments. It does happen that one of them is almost nude, but the image is so striking and miles away from what Pirelli was showing in the previous years. It was actress and comedian Amy Schumer and Annie explained it to Vogue: “It was as if she didn’t get the memo, but if you look at her, that was a true moment; she actually picked up the cup of coffee and started drinking it. That was her coffee, and I said, ‘That’s it!’”.

Besides Amy, a lucky few will get to enjoy a calendar with photos of Fran Lebowitz, Yoko Ono, Patti Smith, Serena Williams, Tavi Gevinson, Ava DuVernay, Yao Chen, Mellody Hobson, Shirin Neshat, Agnes Gund, Kathleen Kennedy, and Natalia Vodianova. For the rest of us that will not get their hands on the prestigious publication, I say I feel happy enough that such inspirational women are being in the limelight for this year, and I say we need to continue celebrating them and their stories long after 2016 is gone. Pirelli, you got me as a fan now, and I hope our romance will last for many years to come.

Photos are from Vogue.com.