The Pirelli Calendar is back just in time for the holiday season! Fashion’s favorite way to ring in the New Year has arrived with photography by Ethan James Green, fashion direction by Tonne Goodman, and an all-star cast of characters that fulfill this year’s “refresh and reveal” credo to a sensual, mesmerizing tee.
The annual project captures moments in culture and contemporary aesthetics each year, and has seen 51 issues produced by 40 photographers since its inception in 1964. Green follows in the lineage of Annie Leibovitz, Peter Lindbergh and Tim Walker in creative-directing this annual commemoration of timely creative dialogue.
“Our idea of beauty has expanded so much from what it used to be. We called the concept 'Refresh and Reveal' because we’re returning to the calendar’s origins and celebrating the body in new ways that reflect the current moment,” Green explained.
Shot between a studio set-up and in Miami using the beach as an unspoken and compelling) character, Hunter Schafer grasped plant fronds with a piercing gaze, John Boyega posed stoically as waves rolled in, and Padma Lakshmi took a dip in a transfixing white ensemble. Other cast members include friends of the photographer and new subjects including Simone Ashley, Jodie Turner-Smith, Connie Fleming, Martine Gutierrez, Hoyeon and Vincent Cassel.
“I’ve known him for six or seven years now. I first shot with him when I was 19, and we’ve really been on this journey together,” Schafer said.
From a style point-of-view, Goodman communicated the compelling drama of this year’s calendar through draping subjects in exquisite garments and barely-there pieces alike. Sensual, billowy and fun were the pillars. “Conceal and Reveal” was the rule between her and Green in building the story. She added that working on the calendar “was absolutely fabulous. Not only was it a challenge, but I also understood that I was working on a significant project.”
Shooting across May and June created a spectrum of elemental texture as well, as sun and rain complicated the creative brief and informed an even stronger variety of final storytelling. From standing on the highest rung of a 20-foot ladder to posing nude for the calendar himself (“To be naked in front of that many people was quite freeing,” Green said), the photographer’s immersion into the calendar’s creative process was unyielding and wholehearted.
Connie Fleming, legend of the New York nightlife scene and Mugler muse, posed in a beachy, orange look as blonde-brown tresses flowed in the wind, clear eyes meeting the camera with an electric aura.
“I’m proud to have been a part of this reimagined, wonderfully artistic, forward-thinking and inclusive vision,” Fleming said. “I’d love my participation to be representative of women of a certain age, trans women of color and breast cancer survivors. To find strength and perseverance, joy within self, love of one's journey and the gifts we can impart.”
Green’s 2025 Pirelli Calendar is a reimagined tapestry of modern beauty, combining timeless allure with fresh perspective. “I’m really proud to be able to produce something with a lot of collaborators that are very dear to me, that will stick with us for a long time. It’s Pirelli! It’s exciting,” he shared.
Photography: Ethan James Green and courtesy of Pirelli
