The 2026 Pirelli Calendar Is Here — And It’s All About Female Empowerment

The 52nd-edition of the annual Pirelli Calendar (which also goes by the trademark, “The Cal”) was just released on November 14. The theme for the 2026 spread focuses in on an international cast of women, including tennis hall of famer Venus Williams, model Irina Shayk, and Academy-award winning actor Tilda Swinton. In recent years, the calendar has served as an important cultural context on issues like race and gender. But it’s also a place where different photographers can join a list of greats who have shot the iconic calendar as well, like Richard Avedon, Peter Lindbergh, and Herb Ritts.

This time, the portraits were taken by Norwegian fashion photographer and filmmaker Sølve Sundsbø, who was tapped to as this year’s visionary. Sundsbø explained that he was heavily inspired by the human connection to nature as his concept for the shoot. But he was adamant about not wanting it done in an obvious or literal way. “The Calendar isn't really about earth, wind, fire, water; it's a way of connecting us to where we come from,” Sundsbø told Pirelli. The photographer traveled to London, New York, and the English countryside to execute the ‘forces of nature’ concept.

Also included in the calendar spread are Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter FKA Twigs and Academy Award-nominated actor, model and conservationist Isabella Rossellini, as well as Eva Herzigová, Susie Cave, Adria Arjona, Du Juan, Luisa Ranieri. It was an intentional choice that the cast of women covered a wide age range across professional fields. TZR caught up with Irina Shayk to chat about her experience with on set Sundsbø.

“I mean, every girl on this calendar is special and in power,” Shayk tells TZR. “So, I felt chosen and I felt very, very, very honored,” the model continues. Shayk revealed that she and Sundsbø had worked together once before on a GQ shoot back in 2016. So when she found out her element was going to be wind, she talked to Sundsbø about feeling like perhaps it was the wrong choice since she’s a Capricorn, which is an earth sign. Eventually the model came around and even found the meaning behind it.

“I figured out that wind is a freedom and we're all longing for freedom. We all want to find movement in life. We're all longing for change, for better change. So, I found it very refreshing to connect with a wind element,” Shayk explains.

While Shayk embraced her natural element, so did Williams. Hers, however, was all about fire. A burning intensity that only a once in a generation tennis champion can relate to. Williams wore a black corseted look to get the shot in front of a flaming backdrop. The other elements included the sky, water, flowers, and ether. Each one celebrating the women that represent “mystery, imagination, passion, the desire for emancipation, and our relationship with time and space,” according to Sundsbø.

Sundsbø’s version of the Pirelli calendar includes both a short film and still portraits from the project. “When I saw the final product and the idea behind it, I was like, wow, that's really cool, because how you can bring not only beauty, but also emotion into this calendar, so every person who sees it can connect with it?” Shayk shares with TZR. All that to say that Sundsbø should consider his 2026 vision executed.