The e-agerly awaited 2010 edition of the Pirelli Calendar has been presented to the press, guests, and collectors from around the world at Battersea Evolution Park in London. The stars of this edition are five of Hollywood ’s most acclaimed and beloved actresses: Sophia Loren, Penelope Cruz, Hilary Swank, Naomi Watts and daring newcomer Lou Doillon, photographed by the Dutch duo Inez Van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin in California.

A bed and five stories: The unique 2007 calendar marks a turning point: the glamour that characterized past editions is absent. There has been a return to the simplicity of the film sets, stories and photography of the early sixties (reminiscent of the films of Pier Paolo Pasolini and Michelangelo Antonioni): the personality of the person prevails over the environment in a plain, unadorned setting.

Simple, spontaneous images portray five women. These profound, secret stories reveal the most private and hidden soul of the protagonists. The resolute and proud personalities of the actresses overwhelmingly emerge in the bareness of the environment. One bed, five protagonists, and five stories appear in a calendar that challenges fads, breaks with convention, and delves into the psyches of the women. Intellectual, psychological, and artistic are the adjectives that best describe this edition. “We are in a room with just a bed and sheet. We wanted to make it as personal and intimate as possible, as if we were shooting pictures with friends,” said Inez. This completely new way of portraying the actresses sharply contrasts with the usual images of the five superstars appearing in the media – from the red carpet of film premieres to glossy glamour magazine photos and snapshots taken by the paparazzi.

Legend:
The Pirelli Calendar is a trade calendar published by the Pirelli company’s UK subsidiary. It has become an annual publication that dates back to 1964. The calendar is famous for its limited availability because it is not sold and is only given as a corporate gift to a restricted number of important Pirelli customers and celebrity VIPs. The Pirelli Calendar is perhaps the world’s only prestigious and exclusive “girly” calendar, featuring pictures generally considered glamour photography including artistic nudes. Publication was discontinued after the 1974 issue as an economising cut back in response to the world recession from the oil shock. It was resurrected 10 years later and has been published regularly since then.

The Calendar is a communication symbol for Pirelli. It was the 1964 edition that introduced the Pirelli calendar to international stardom. The pictures, by the Beatles photographer Robert Freeman, were sexy and, at the same time, warm and friendly. The models, framed on and off the beaches of the south of France, still shocked a gently swinging Britain as it emerged from the austere Fifties. By 1974, The Cal had become a status symbol. So, it came as a big surprise when Pirelli decided to stop publishing its calendar because of two oil crisis. Then, silence. “Oh no!” wailed The Sun , “They’ve fired all the pin-ups!” Finally in 1984, the oil crises were only a memory and the calendar came back with Uwe Ommer. In 1994, the calendar had become part of the international Pirelli Group’s communications portfolio: Herb Ritt (1994) and Richard Avedon (1995) portrayed supertopmodels like Cindy Crawford, Kate Moss, Helena Christensen and Naomi Campbell. During the first forty three years of its publication, the Pirelli calendar has provided an extraordinary array of imagery. The now 34 editions of the Pirelli Calendar provide an enduring suggestion to the metamorphosis of our society.

Past of The Pirelli calendar (locations/photographer):

Year      Photographer                    Location

1964      Robert Freeman                Majorca and Spain
1965      Brian Duffy                      South of France
1966      Peter Knapp                     Al Hoceima, Morocco
…
2008     Patrick Demarchelier           Shanghai, China
2009     Peter Beard                      Okavango Delta, Botswana
2010     Terry Richardson               Trancoso, Bahia and Brazil

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