This Is Not Your Creepy Wall Street Grandpa's Pirelli Calendar

Latest

The notoriously nudie Pirelli Calendar—known for depicting models and their ilk in various states of pin-up-style undress and being shipped off to an exclusive list of high-end clientele who presumably smell like scotch and cigars and laugh maniacally in their top-floor corner offices—has undergone a revamp this year and, lo! It’s a revamp that respects women for their accomplishments, not their boobies.

Shot for the first time by Annie Leibovitz, the initial images from the 2016 Pirelli depict women either fully clothed or wearing less for a purpose. (“When Fran Lebowitz, the 65-year-old author, got the call, she said, ‘I thought it was a joke,’” the New York Times reports.) Serena Williams is wearing a bikini, essentially, but her physique is depicted not for titillation but to admire her strength, the sheer impact of her power. Amy Schumer appears in just her underwear and a coffee cup, naked-ish but casually spoofing Pirelli nudity by showing a realistic image of how many women are most often naked—getting dressed for work, sucking down caffeine, sexy not because we are fantasies but because we are out here grinding.

Two other available images from the calendar, of Patti Smith and Yao Chen, are the women in their element, casually ruling.

Also included in the 2016 Pirelli, but whose images are not yet available: Ava DuVernay, Yoko Ono, Dreamworks chair Mellody Hobson, Fran Lebowitz, Natalia Vodianova (the only model-by-trade, and an activist as well), artist Shirin Neshat, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, Tavi Gevinson and arts advocate Agnes Gund. Perhaps this year they will send these calendars to people who will appreciate them, such as the Jezebel office! Holler.


Contact the author at [email protected].

Images via Pirelli/Annie Leibovitz.

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Share Tweet Submit Pin