‘Refresh and reveal’: Celebrities strip off for latest edition of star-studded Pirelli calendar

By Jemal Polson, CNN

(CNN) — White sand beaches, Atlantic Ocean views and a whole lot of skin — this is the 2025 Pirelli Calendar.

The latest edition of “The Cal,” published annually by the Italian tire manufacturer as an exclusive perk for its clients, features an array of stars from the worlds of TV, film, music and fashion. In past years, industry titans such as Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford and Kate Moss have graced its pages, shot by renowned photographers Terence Donovan, Richard Avedon and Herb Ritts.

For the latest edition, New York-based photographer Ethan James Green turns his lens on Hunter Schafer, John Boyega and Simone Ashley, along with model and illustrator Connie Fleming, artist Martine Gutierrez and model Jenny Shimizu, among others. Titled “Refresh and Reveal,” the calendar’s 51st entry puts flesh on focus — with the cast appearing in various states of undress.

Photographed on both dry land and sea, the models use props foraged from the beach to cover their modesty, appearing in both black-and-white and serene tones. The calendar is a far cry from last year’s “Timeless” theme – swapping out the bold array of colors for a calmer palette.

Shot on location in Miami, “Refresh and Reveal” is, as the name suggests, a “refresh” of the calendar’s 1964 origins, which saw British photographer Robert Freeman head to the beaches of Majorca, Spain, to take portraits of models Jane Lumb and Sonny Drane. “Reveal” is of course, an ode to the scantily clad nature of its subjects.

“There’s not really a way that we can be more our true selves than if we’re naked,” Green told CNN.

For Green, who rose to prominence with intimate black-and-white portraits of New York’s youth, and whose clients include Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and i-D, the casting process was simple. He reached out to previous collaborators including Fleming, Gutierrez and Schafer — the last of whom he first photographed for Teen Vogue in 2017. Tonne Goodman, American Vogue’s former fashion director, also served as the project’s fashion director and creative consultant.

In the calendar, Green pulls double duty as a model, too, making it the third time a calendar photographer has appeared in the cast. It feels fitting — Green started out as a model himself, which also influenced how he approached this shoot.

“Being on the other side of the camera… you’re in a very vulnerable place, especially if you’re showing a lot of skin,” he said. “So being able to make people feel comfortable was very crucial for this project. I would say modeling when I was younger was a good way of learning that.”

Green and his team also found themselves bracing the elements while shooting in Miami across May and June, alternating between photographing in Virginia Beach Park and in a studio. “We would run out when we had sun and do studio pictures when it rained,” Green recalled. “The studio started floating (flooding) because there was so much rain… we had to evacuate.”

Collaboration was key to the 2025 calendar, Green said. “Everyone had their unique approach to it,” he added of the calendar’s models, consultants and organizers. “You’d go on this journey going through the clothes — or lack of clothes — seeing what people wanted to do and what their Pirelli experience should be,” he said.

While Green’s style has evolved over the years, he says his approach has always remained the same. “I’ve always been very collaborative — which has always led me to the picture .”

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