Peter Lindbergh gets 'sexy on the inside' in the 2017 Pirelli calendar...

“A cry for beauty today against the terror of perfection and youth”

“It’s another kind of naked, more important than body parts. What is more than being naked is to show yourself the way you are.”

Peter Lindbergh unveiled the 2017 Pirelli Calendar in Paris last night featuring a much older and very un-naked cast than we've been used to seeing in previous years. Following in the vein of Anne Leibovitz's 2016 Pirelli calendar shoot that featured strong women of achievement, Lindbergh decided to...

"not shoot a calendar about perfect bodies but to capture sensitivity and emotion, laying bare the souls of the women in the images, rendering them more naked that a nude."

I have long been a fan of Peter Lindbergh's work having grown up with the imagery of the 90's supermodels. This series very much reminds me of the 'Reunion' shoot he did last year featuring those iconic supermodels that he himself created, shot in very much the same way. I love this raw and honest gaze that he presents and I love the messaging that he portray's. The strength in women and the beauty found in our perceived flaws, picked up and unhidden by the camera. It is this that makes us beautiful, compelling, human, intriguing.

But what does this say about the changing brand of Pirelli? Are we witnessing an attempt to culturally refine a new generation of mechanics? I somehow don't see this calendar taking up wall space in the office of the car yard down the road! Perhaps I'm wrong and I underestimate the male psyche. One thing is certain, these images have garnered as much media interest for being contrary to what people expect. What are your thoughts?

I think it's great to celebrate older women and to present 'sexy' in a different way. The purpose of art is to make people to stop and think and question their go-to beliefs and ideals about what something should and shouldn't be.

Interestingly, this is the third time that Peter Lindbergh has shot for Pirelli. Watching the 'making of' highlights, you can see Peter's style come around full circle. His 1996 shoot in the desert cements his signature style, whilst the 2002 shoot (I think my favourite ever Pirelli shoot,) shows a departure to this style, embracing a full fantasy  production of Hollywood starlets, to this 2017 presentation of raw images of an older selection of Hollywood actresses .

Love your work Peter. Keep doing what you do.