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It's a case of back to the future for the 2014 Pirelli Calendar -- the 50th anniversary edition -- with the Italian company raiding their vault for a set of unused photos originally shot for the 1986 edition by late legend Helmut Newton.
The Newton images were commissioned in 1986 by Pirelli's Italian HQ, but at the same time their London office (which at the time handled 'The Cal') commissioned Bert Stern for the job. There was reportedly a bit of conflict, which evaporated when Newton had to leave the project unfinished to meet other commitments. However his close assistants finished the pages to his directions, and they were stored in Pirelli's Italy archive -- waiting for their day.
That day has come, with the 2014 calendar year matching the 1986 one, and Newton's stunning -- and now wonderfully retro -- shots being published as the 50th anniversary Cal. There are the expected beautiful women, but also plenty of stunning cars (and a few tyres) ... features that have largely been missing from recent Pirelli calendars, which have focused either solely on the female form or used to illustrate environmental and charity themes.
Last year's calendar was photographed by Steve McCurry – famed for the 1985 National Geographic cover of a green-eyed Afghan girl -- who shot the 2013 Pirelli Calendar in Brazil with the models all fully clothed. The calendar featured Karlie Kloss, Summer Rayne, Isabeli Fontana, Hanaa Ben Abdesslem, Liya Kibede, Kyleigh Kuhn and a heavily pregnant Adriana Lima, all chosen because of their high-profile involvement with charities.
The previous year saw fashion photographer Mario Testino shoot a line-up that included Kate Moss, with nudity strongly featured in the 2012 edition. Other notable photographers who have created previous calendars include the star designer Karl Lagerfeld – the maestro of the Chanel fashion house – who produced a striking series of monochrome images based on the gods of Olympus for the 2011 Pirelli Calendar.
Australian model superstars Kerr, Catherine McNeil and Abbey Lee Kershaw were among the eleven in the 2010 Pirelli Calendar, shot by Terry Richardson, the outrageous American fashion photographer whose images are often sexually provocative and can border on the graphic.
Renowned wildlife photographer Stephen Beard and his wife shot and produced the 2009 Pirelli Calendar, which featured supermodels with rare animals -- and strange insects -- in somewhat dangerous poses in Africa.
This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott
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