Naturally gorgeous. Every year, fashion lovers wait in anticipation for the glam Pirelli calendar featuring top models and actresses in stunning form. But this year, there’s a bold, welcome twist on the portfolio: All of the calendar’s celebs, including Nicole Kidman, Robin Wright, Julianne Moore and Uma Thurman, were left completely unretouched.
“In a time when women are represented in the media — and everywhere else — as ambassadors of perfection and youth, I thought it was important to remind everyone that there is a different beauty, more real and truthful and not manipulated by commercial or any other interests, a beauty which speaks about individuality, courage to be yourself and your own private sensibility,” photographer Peter Lindbergh said in a statement.
The famed shutterbug, who’s taking his fourth turn behind the camera for Pirelli (the first photographer to do so), continued, “My aim was to portray women in a different way, and I did it by calling in actresses who’ve played an important role in my life, getting as close as possible to them to take my photos. As an artist, I feel I’m responsible for freeing women from the idea of eternal youth and perfection. The ideal of perfect beauty promoted by society is something that simply can’t be attained.”
And yet, all of the women featured are simply stunning, with or without Photoshop. Forty-nine-year-old Kidman’s cheekbones are on full display as she’s curled up in a simple camisole. Both Wright, 50, and Moore, 55, show off their toned, lithe frames in simple black bodysuits. And Thurman, 46, looks casually glamorous, wrapped up in a turtleneck sweater with windswept hair.
The four ladies are joined by Alicia Vikander, Jessica Chastain, Kate Winslet, Penelope Cruz, Charlotte Rampling, Rooney Mara, Helen Mirren, Lupita Nyong’o, Lea Seydoux and Zhang Ziyi, all of whom also appear unretouched for the project. See the complete calendar at pirellicalendar.pirelli.com!
