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TO A few hundred feet away, on a protected beach in the Miami Keys, Ethan James Green transcended the veracity of beauty behind his camera.
I watched in curiosity as the photographer balanced himself on top of a ladder and looked down through his lens at his model from above. Lying on the sand below him, dressed in a soaked gold dress, her long hair swaying in the waves, was Bridgerton Star Simone Ashely lay motionless, hunched over as if she had just lain down to stretch, as a shallow puddle of water trickled around her body, forming a lucid footprint on the damp ground.
It was mid-June and I was on the set of Green’s 2025 Pirelli Calendar, submerged in intense humidity as mosquitoes bit my neck. Though I was sitting far from the swarm of photography assistants and production managers gathered at the water’s edge and ready to adapt at a moment’s notice, Ashley’s brave vulnerability and Green’s encouragement were palpable. The scene was, for the most part, quiet, with whispers drifting in and out with the threat of clouds overhead. But what rang loud was the connection between photographer and actress, silent but deafening. They were complementary, discovering and understanding each other’s vision more with every minute. As Green clicked his camera, Ashley’s photos scrolled across a monitor in front of me, each as ethereal as the next. Eventually, my attention was drawn to Green, the 34-year-old chosen to direct the 51st edition of The Cal.
Shot outdoors at Virginia Key Beach Park and inside a studio, the 2025 calendar centers the conversation around natural beauty from two points of view. The Michigan-born creative, whose work has appeared in Fashion, The New Yorker, W Magazineand more – built the concept, “Refresh and Reveal,” a raw, two-dimensional immersion that will continue the calendar’s reputation as a cultural vanguard, only this time challenging societal beliefs around contemporary sensuality and nudity. Following the smash-hit success of last year’s Prince Gyasi 50th calendar, which pushed narratives of timeless art, Green sought to strip away the color and return to the calendar’s history, finding inspiration in treasured works of the past.
In 1964, Pirelli UK Limited, the British subsidiary of the Italian conglomerate, fought against expansion and competition in the tyre sector by devising a marketing strategy to increase its visibility: an exclusive printed book available only to its customers. Under the Pirelli name, this new facet would honour its community and present an irrevocable work to comment on cultural phenomena from the perspective of a respected visionary.
From Robert Freeman, the famous photographer responsible for the achromatic images of the Beatles, to Sarah Moon, Paolo Roversi and Annie Leibovitz, illustrious artists from around the world have captured contemporary ideals in the Pirelli Calendar with their unique styles. Avant-garde fashion has merged with an organic and synthetic direction, offering a variety of images of models that have become introspective tools in society. And Green’s Pirelli Calendar will be no different.
His talent for producing insightful portraits that reflect identity and sexuality will be demonstrated in the images of 12 subjects, including himself. From powerhouse actress Hunter Schafer to legendary Indian-American writer and model Padma Lakshmi, New York-based artist Martine Goodier, Vincent Cassel and Jenny Shimizu, the 2025 Pirelli Calendar will feature screen stars, fine art producers and activists alike to represent a diverse palette of beauty.
While The Cal’s fashion over the years has notoriously been somewhere between over-the-top and exposed, the 51st list focuses on a lack of clothing, returning to the technique seen in Herb Ritts’ 1994 calendar and Richard Avedon’s 1997 edition. Narrowing his focus, Green lingered on Avedon and Ritts’ print books, noting how the sultry, sexy style had been tastefully done despite preconceived notions of nudity. Inside a studio in New York, Avedon photographed “Women of the World,” and on a beach Ritts captured his vision of “Modern Classic” with Cindy Crawford and Kate Moss. For Green’s next list, he decided to do both.
“I thought, let's combine,” Green said. The Independent The day after finishing filming in Miami. “Classical settings and we have a contemporary cast. That is the combination that I like a lot, classic with contemporary, continuing something that already exists but with something current. Renewing. And that is our renewal.”
“I think the important thing is to show some skin again and not be afraid to do it and do it in a respectful way,” she added.
“I think it's much more than that,” said Tonne Goodman, the calendar designer. “I think what's happening in society and culture globally is a huge threat to the individual and the essence of the individual. And the essence of the individual is the way you're born, you're naked and it's who you are.
“The fact that this is now being questioned is horrible,” he continued. “I think that by doing so, it means that it should be appreciated.”
With the help of Goodman, the former senior fashion editor responsible for 200 Fashion On the covers, Green's “revelation” became a reality. Goodman and her team chose barely-there clothing, sheer blouses, bathing suits, chiffon dresses and leather bodysuits to create an illusion of “nakedness,” abandoning the exaggeration of modern editorial. In some cases, organic materials were used as scant layers over underwear.
Working as a stylist for this shoot, Goodman found attempting to “undress clothes” a challenge for someone whose forte is archetypal fashion selection (although her June-July 2020 collection WSJ Magazine Supermodel Doutzen Kroes’ cover is comparable to the calendar style. “The idea of stripping down to clothes was the challenge,” she said. “That’s where the reveal comes in, because you can’t reveal something unless you have something covering it to take it off and reveal it.”
The search process proved tricky, too. Goodman admitted that she had to sift through several sites, looking between the provocative and the vulgar, before finding the delicate, free-form outfit that suited and appealed to each model's personality.
Back on the sandy beach in Miami, under the rumble of thunder and lightning, Padma Lakshmi exhaled deeply, reflecting on today's conservative morality as her white garment clung to her skin. She had just posed for Green in the water with only the transparent suit on.
“I worked as a model in the 90s and there was a lot more freedom back then,” she explained. “I think we have become a lot more conservative today and that is a good thing. A lot of the things that were happening in the 90s had to go. But I don’t think nudity is something to be afraid of because I think a woman’s body is one of the most beautiful creations of nature.”
“I’m at an age where I’m not afraid of my body. I feel more beautiful. I feel more sensual today than I did when I was in my twenties or thirties,” she said, adding that Green’s calendar was a “talisman of femininity.”
For 32-year-old British-Nigerian actor and first-time calendar model John Boyega, the inclusivity woven throughout the 51st calendar has been what has resonated most with him this time around. “I like the inclusivity, the acceptance of beauty in different shapes and sizes. I like the fact that we're celebrating that beauty can be defined in different ways,” he told The Independent after finishing his study session with Green.
“There is always that sense of beauty that you can relate to and connect with. Beauty is life. Even in the darkness, there is beauty,” Boyega added.
Much like the beauty that is promised to abound within the pages of the 2025 Pirelli Calendar, the calendar as a whole is sure to act as a guiding figure against society’s resistance to the mind-body connection. “There’s an expression my sister said: ‘The arts have the power to free us from evil,’” Goodman said, knowing that she, Green, the cast and crew did just that with their 51st edition of the Pirelli Calendar, which is set to launch later this year.
