August 12, 2025 |
When Solve Sundsbø was asked to shoot the 2026 Pirelli Calendar, the renowned Norwegian photographer didn’t hesitate. “We had a conversation and agreed it was a great idea,” he says, characteristically understating himself. But behind the simplicity lies a deeper process: a careful selection based on a career of pushing boundaries in fashion photography, and a willingness to interpret beauty in ways that are rarely straightforward.
The Pirelli Calendar – born in 1964 and once the glossy pin-up bible of supermodels and sun-kissed hedonism – has evolved into a cultural barometer, swapping bikini shots for high-art narratives that capture fashion’s shifting gaze and the politics of beauty. This year’s concept came to Sundsbø in elemental form – literally. “They wanted it to be about women, about sensuality, and to have a connection to nature,” he explains. “Everyone thinks ‘Pirelli’ and imagines a beautiful woman on the beach, but the calendar has also been Greek mythology, psychoanalysis and abstract photography. I wanted to strip nature down to its elements – fire, wind, water, light – and take them into the studio. Nature, but not too natural.”
The result is a series of portraits in which each woman becomes part of a distilled environment: Du Juan made from clouds, Tilda Swinton inhabiting a strange world of plants, Gwendoline Christie shimmering like light itself – and Eva Herzigová, submerged in water.
Eva Herzigová
That underwater shoot, which I witnessed firsthand, was not for the faint of heart. Inside a large glass tank, Herzigová held her breath while Sundsbø and his team choreographed light, fabric and movement. Sundsbø understood the assignment: “People underwater don’t usually look good – gravity works differently. You can’t light from the front, and there’s an element of trust. But Eva’s fearless,” he says.
Herzigová, who first appeared in a Pirelli Calendar nearly three decades ago, welcomed the element of immersion – both literal and creative. “I thrive with things in nature,” she says. “This is my third time [modelling for the Pirelli Calendar] – 1996, 1998, and now. The women this year are all powerful, relevant, strong. It’s an honour to be in their company.”
For her, the shoot was not about being “pretty” in the conventional sense. “I don’t play myself. I always take on a role, depending on the concept. In the water, I embraced the element, the whole team’s vision. If my hair’s in my face, fine – the image comes first.”
Sundsbø’s casting was a collaboration with Pirelli, choosing women he wanted to photograph, each shoot tailored to the subject’s comfort level and strengths. “If someone leaves unhappy, that’s an absolute failure,” he says. “It’s not just about the picture, it’s about how they feel.”
That respect fosters a sense of creative risk-taking. On set, he looks for the unplanned. “There’s always something unexpected – a hand’s position, the way light hits the skin. With Du Juan, it was her weightless movement. With Eva, it was her courage.”
Pirelli itself has undergone its own evolution, moving from the bold pin-up imagery of its 1960s beginnings to a modern approach that celebrates women for their influence, artistry and individuality. Herzigová says, “It used to be about tyres and Italian product placement. Now it reflects culture – choosing women for their relevance and strength.”
For Sundsbø, that strength outweighs any perceived vulnerability. “I like to photograph women as strong. There’s strength in sensuality; it doesn’t have to be fragile.”
Herzigová sums up her own experience with one word: art. Sundsbø chooses the unexpected. And standing in the humid studio air as Herzigová emerged from the tank, droplets catching the light, it was clear the 2026 Pirelli Calendar is both – a distilled moment where the elements meet artistry, and where the familiar becomes entirely, beautifully new.
BTS photography by Alessandro Scott.
Solve Sundsbø
