The typical Pin Up calendar tends to receive mixed views, muddled connotations and is predominantly for one audience…men. Pirelli however, renowned for producing beautifully artistic calendars, is celebrating 50 years with an effortlessly beautiful photo shoot featuring models from previous calendars. Patrick Demarchelier and Peter Lindbergh photographed Miranda Kerr, Alessandra Ambrosio, Isabeli Fontana along with Karolina Kurkova, Alek Wek and Helena Christensen who have been bought together the celebrate half a century’s worth of the Pirelli “Cal”.
It was the 1964 edition that introduced the Pirelli calendar to international stardom. Due primarily to the “friendly” but sexy pictures of Robert Freeman, the Beatles’ chosen photographer for their “magical” tours. It was an immediate success: the models, immortalised on the splendid beaches of the Côte d’Azur, shocked a country that was emerging from the austerity of the 1950s. Within a number of years, “The Cal” became a status symbol, and these images mark 50 years of this same sophistication, drawn from the concept of beauty, and bridging the gap between fashion and glamour.
Mission has seen some outstanding pieces of coverage, even from the likes of Miranda Kerr who has been a proud twitter advocate for the Pirelli brand. Sunday Times Style got the world exclusive of the photoshoot with a front cover and a six page feature, and we will look forward to September’s issue of Dazed for all the behind the scenes gossip from the shoot.
