2016 Pirelli Calendar Discards Nudity For New Theme

Cameron Aubernon
by Cameron Aubernon

Playboy and the Pirelli Calendar had one thing in common (nudity), and as of the 2016 edition of the calendar, they still do (no nudity).

According to Bloomberg, the 2016 Pirelli Calendar has gone in a different direction for 2016, discarding its traditional theme of nude models and actresses for one focusing on 13 women who’ve made a huge impact on society and culture around them.

Shot by photographer Annie Liebovitz (who also has the 2000 calendar on her résumé), the subjects gracing the new year’s edition include musician/poet Patti Smith, tennis phenom Serena Williams, and commedienne Amy Schumer, the latter two posing topless while obscuring their breasts.

Lebowitz says she wanted the photos she shot for the calendar to show her subjects “exactly as they are, with no pretense,” adding the 2000 calendar — her first time shooting nude photos — was a more simple task compared to the 2016 calendar.

The Pirelli Calendar, available to the tire company’s VIP customers and celebrities, has been issued annually by the company’s U.K. subsidiary between 1964 and 1974, and since 1984.

Cameron Aubernon
Cameron Aubernon

Seattle-based writer, blogger, and photographer for many a publication. Born in Louisville. Raised in Kansas. Where I lay my head is home.

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  • Chets Jalopy Chets Jalopy on Nov 30, 2015

    Phew! Now all my feminist SJW mechanic buddies have a calendar to hang in their carbon neutral shops. Progress ho!

    • See 4 previous
    • Chets Jalopy Chets Jalopy on Dec 03, 2015

      @RideHeight Who's the audience here, given its limited publication? Tire changers, shop managers, regional sales guys, or VPs of Douchebaggery and Enlightenment?

  • Anonymous Anonymous on Nov 30, 2015

    I win! I made the 69th comment and it involved Amy Schumer!

    • 28-Cars-Later 28-Cars-Later on Dec 01, 2015

      You do! Oh but your prize is you have to listen to Schumer do comedy. Bummer.

  • Heavy handle Heavy handle on Dec 01, 2015

    I have no issue with the "lack" of nudity in this year's Pirelli calendar. It's not the first time they've done that. The issue is that it's very US-centric. Most of the women they picked have no cultural relevance outside of the US, and many of them don't even have cultural relevance in flyover states. It's a Madison Avenue hipster in-joke, which seems a poor way to promote an Italian-Chinese multinational. It's like that kid at school who was always following last year's trends, wondering why others didn't find him cool. "I hired the best photographer (circa 1983) and made it socially relevant, why can't I hang with the cool kids?"

    • See 1 previous
    • Panzerfaust Panzerfaust on Dec 02, 2015

      @VolandoBajo Yeah, they 'get' that we shouldn't objectify women with gratuitous nudity, but objectifying them with hair, makeup, and wardrobe is just fine.

  • Panzerfaust Panzerfaust on Dec 01, 2015

    I'm okay with clothes on, what I do like to see a girl without are tats, piercings and silicone.

    • NoGoYo NoGoYo on Dec 02, 2015

      I used to dislike tats and piercings until I discovered SG.

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