Pirelli’s 2014 – 50th Anniversary Calendar by Helmut Newton

THE latest Pirelli calendar will not star fashion’s current crop of supermodels as expected, rather the Italian tyre company – which launched its first risqué edition in 1964 as an marketing tool – will release an unpublished 1986 calendar shot by Helmut Newton.

The original version was never launched due to a mix of factors. Two calendars were commissioned in 1964, with the best one chosen for release. However, Newton was forced to stop shooting because of personal issues and his assistant took over the project, paying close attention to his boss’s instructions, but, in the end, competing photographer Robert Freeman landed the job.

Pirelli celebrates its 50th anniversary next year, and its 2014 edition has been hailed as a celebration of its success to date. Each calendar is known for starring scantily-clad supermodels posing in provocative positions, although the 2013 edition was photographed by Steve McCurry – who adopted a more demure approach to the proceedings – having famously taken the striking portrait of the green-eyed Afghan Girl for the cover of the National Geographic in 1985.

In August this year, Pirelli unveiled a commemorative shoot of some of fashion’s most famous models, including Miranda Kerr, Alessandra Ambrosio and Helena Christensen, which were thought to pre-empt its forthcoming calendar stars – although this wasn’t to be.