The 2016 Pirelli Calendar Shocked Everyone With its Huge Changes

Pirelli Calendars, since the day of their creation, were known to feature semi-naked or completely nude women, mostly supermodels. They’re kind of a novelty item, created by the Italian tire company of the same name; that’s distributed to an audience of certain “V.I.Ps, musicians, politicians and royalty”, according to the company. You can see how this is a great marketing move. You buy the tires and get a great calendar of naked women as a bonus.

This year everything changed. Instead of booking supermodels for the calendar photoshoot, Pirelli teamed up with the famous photographer Annie Leibovitz and decided to invite influential women to take part in the photoshoot. Mind you, not just influential super-model looking women, but real women, ones you might see on the street. The Pirelli Calendar for 2016 includes pictures of influential women of all ages. You’ll be able to see the 77-year-old president of the Museum of Modern Art, Agnes Gund and Fran Lebowitz, the 65-year-old author. Mellody Hobson, the president of Ariel Investments, who’s 46 also took part in the photoshoot. Serena Williams, Amy Schumer, Tavi Gevinson, Patti Smith, Yoko Ono and others are also featured in the calendar.

All of these women were chosen for the photoshoot because of their successful careers. The thing that makes this Pirelli Calendar different from all the previous ones is that all the women are pictured fully clothed except for two. Serena Williams is photographed topless, wearing a pair of sporty shorts and with her back to us, muscles on a show. Her body is a real work of art, said Annie Leibovitz. The other person who’s not fully clad in this photoshoot is Amy Schumer. She’s pictured almost naked, only in some lingerie, the joke being that she didn’t get the memo.

It’s an immense step for Pirelli and a great example for other companies, of how quickly you can change your brand and modernize it. However, Pirelli intentions are still unclear. Did they do this to show that they support women and-and their achievements and see women as more than sexual objects? Or is this just a PR move to get more exposure and get in on the trend that’s popular right now. A lot of companies have been jumping on the bandwagon and supporting female leaders and utilizing the “empowered women” trend for their benefit. Let’s hope this big change for Pirelli is permanent, and they won’t do a complete 180 next year.