Pirelli’s calendar for 2018 features an all-black cast and it’s beyond powerful.
Photographed by Tim Walker, the calendar includes 17 black models and entertainers, all in elaborate costumes for an ‘Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland’ theme.
Styled by the newly appointed editor-in-chief of British Vogue Edward Enninful, well-known faces take on individual characterised roles from the much-loved book by Lewis Carroll.
The celebrity line-up is impressive: model Adwoa Aboah as Tweedledee; musician Diddy and supermodel Naomi Campbell as Royal Beheaders; actress Lupita Nyongo as the Doormouse; actress Whoopi Goldberg as the Royal Duchess; Ru Paul as the Queen of Hearts; actor Djimon Hounsou as the King of Hearts; and actress Sasha Lane as the Mad March Hare.
The fashion world still has a long way to go in terms of promoting diversity within the industry, but this is a step forward.
Vogue’s Edward Enninful took to Instagram on Thursday 20 July to share snaps from behind-the-scenes.
“What an honour it was to work with so many icons of today,” he wrote.
Supermodel Naomi Campbell also shared a snap on Instagram with her fellow ‘Royal Beheader’, Diddy:
“I moved mountains to be a part of this,” said Sean Combs (a.k.a Diddy) told the New York Times.
“It is a chance to push social consciousness and break down barriers.
“For so many years, something like this would not have happened in the fashion world, so it feels like being part of history and playing an active role. I want to lead by example.”
Over the past couple of years, Pirelli has changed the direction of their previously sex appeal-fuelled calendars.
Their 2017 edition was shot by photographer Peter Lindbergh and was left completely un-retouched as a powerful statement about beauty ideals.