Irina Shayk! Isabella Rossellini! Venus Williams! Behind the Scenes of the 2026 Pirelli Calendar

The famed Pirelli calendar is back for its 52nd edition. This year, photographer Sølve Sundsbo takes up the task of curating and lensing the legendary spread.

The 2026 calendar was shot in Norfolk, Essex, London and New York City with a host of talent across industries. This year’s line-up includes Tilda Swinton, Gwendoline Christie, Irina Shayk, FKA Twigs, Venus Williams, Eva Herzigová, Susie Cave, Adria Arjona, Du Juan, Luisa Ranieri, and Isabella Rossellini.

“For the 2026 calendar, I want to capture emotions, instincts, and states of mind that’s central to human life so: longing for freedom, curiosity, thirst of knowledge, I guess you can call it,” Sundsbo told press. “Some kind of mystery, imagination, passions, the desire for emancipation, the connection with nature and our relationship with time and space. It s a way of connecting us to something that we come from. Very big issues, but you know, let’s try to be ambitious.”

The Norwegian fashion photographer is known for his fantastical, otherworldly imagery and use of both modern and more analogue techniques, oscillating from 3D scanning to hand-painted retouching. He’s previously shot the likes of Swinton, Cate Blanchett, and Zendaya. “My job as a photographer is to manipulate reality in order to tell what I want,” he told Vogue Italia in 2013.

Pirelli has assembled an all-star team too, including hairstylists Syd Hayes, Ali Pirzadeh, and Bob Recine, makeup artists Val Garland and James Kaliardos, and stylist Jerry Stafford.

Since its 1964 launch, photographers have propeled new epochs for Pirelli. In 2016, Leibovitz pushed ahead by presenting a line-up of women from all walks of life, from Patti Smith to MoMA’s Agnes Gund and Fran Lebowitz. 2025’s calendar saw the likes of Hunter Schafer and Simone Ashley star, photographed by Ethan James Green in an edition that was considered a return to the project’s more sensual, sexier history. Previous photographers include Norman Parkinson, Herb Ritts, and Helmut Newton.

Swinton last featured in the 2018 edition, photographed by Tim Walker, while Rossellini was lensed by Nick Knight in 2004. Annie Leibovitz shot tennis star Venus’s sister Serena for the 2016 calendar.

While the finished images will be revealed later this year, behind-the-scenes shots highlight the high-drama and dynamism to be expected: underwater and pastoral forest scenes, smouldering backdrops, dramatic windblown fabrics. Williams reclines in front of flames, while Rossellini is framed by bunches of brilliant pink florals, and Shayk makes use of the wind machine for a show-stopping shot.

Below, get a peek at what’s to come from the 2026 Pirelli calendar.