Photographer Leibovitz stated, “Pirelli came to me and told me they wanted to shift this year to something different”.
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But for 2016, the company has unveiled a calendar of “inspirational” females such as Serena Williams and Amy Schumer.
This year however, the inclusion of Schumer and other high-profile women marks a change in direction for the tyre brand, which released its first calendar in 1964.
Schumer posted the photograph on her Twitter account, where she has more than 2.6 million followers.
In addition to this, Schumer, who wasn’t shy about her untouched portrait, said in a promo video that she believed she looked more lovely than ever.
“The idea was that she was the only one who had not got the memo about wearing clothes”, Leibovitz explained.
Amy Schumer stripped down for the latest Pirelli calendar.
Leibovitz previously photographed a calendar of nudes for Pirelli back in 2000.
Tennis ace Serena Williams shows off her powerful physique in a graceful pose set against a grey backdrop.
Pirelli calendars have famously featured nude photographs of the world’s top supermodels since the ’80s.
The much anticipated Pirelli Calendar, commonly known as “The Cal”, has seen a departure from its usual list of models such as Kate Moss, Gigi Hadid and Adriana Lima for 2016. Annie Leibovitz talks on stage during a press conference for the Pirelli Calendar 2016 launch at the Grosvenor Hotel Ballroom in London, Monday, Nov. 30, 2015.
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Amy and Serena are among 13 women, handpicked for their “outstanding professional, social, cultural, sporting and artistic accomplishment”, which also includes 68-year-old rock star Patti Smith and 82-year-old musician Yoko Ono. The black and white images, taken in a studio, moves away from the pin-up like models of the past and focuses more on the women exactly how they are.
