In keeping with previous iconic editions of the Pirelli Calendar, New York-based photographer Ethan James Green has chosen to use the 51st Cal™ to play with nudity and explore what beauty means today. Green, who has made a name for himself in fashion photography and portraiture by capturing the essential and personal beauty of his subjects, shot The Cal on the beach – a location that features strongly in the Calendar's history – as well as in the studio. The cast is international with varied ages, and “just variety in all forms”, according to Green. “We're calling it Refresh and Reveal,” the 34-year-old photographer says of the concept. “It's a refresh because we're going back to the beginnings of the Calendar and updating it. And a reveal because we're returning to this idea of showing skin, which is one way of capturing someone's true self.”
Dynamic cast
Actress and model Hunter Schafer, television host and actress Padma Lakshmi, and British actress Jodie Turner-Smith and actors Vincent Cassel and John Boyega are among the diverse cast featured in the latest Calendar. “These are the people I see as very beautiful,” says Green of those featured, who were shot at Miami's Historic Virginia Key Beach Park over two shoots in May and June.
The cast also includes Italian singer, actress, and performer Elodie, British actress and star of Bridgerton Simone Ashley, South Korean actress and star of Squid Game Hoyeon, American model Jenny Shimizu. Also among the cast are two long-term collaborators of Green's, Guatemalan-American artist Martine Gutierrez (who has shown work as part of a group exhibition with Green) and American model and illustrator Connie Fleming. Both are featured in Green's second book Bombshell (2024, Baron), a study of femininity, glamour, and sex appeal. “Casting has always been really important with my work,” says Green. “Having a variety of people I have been working with from the beginning was key. I never wanted to shoot another way.” For only the third time in the history of The Cal™, the 2025 edition features the photographer among its cast. Previously Prince Gyasi (2024) and Bryan Adams (2022) ran portraits of themselves in their Calendars. But this year, for the first time, the photographer's self-portraits are nudes. “I put myself in the Calendar because the only person I could tell to be completely nude was myself,” says Green.
Timeless portraits
Each model is represented by a pair of portraits. One, in colour, was shot outside on the beach or in the ocean. The other, in black and white, was taken in a studio. Devising the concept for the 2025 Calendar, Green was particularly inspired by previous editions by photographers Richard Avedon and Herb Ritts from the 1990s.“They really captured the person and created beautiful timeless images,” Green says. “That was a big part of what I wanted to achieve with my Calendar: to create something people can look back on in 20 to 30 years' time that isn't going to feel dated and hopefully will be referenced in the future. “The world has changed so much since the last time Pirelli had a really sexy Calendar. I was excited to explore how we see beauty now and who is considered beautiful within the classic Pirelli Cal arena – in the studio and on the beach.”
Dream team
Green assembled a team of friends and collaborators to work on the Calendar, who were well-suited to deliver this year's classic but stripped-back concept. Stylist Tonne Goodman has worked with Green several times before, including on his first Vogue cover with Rihanna in 2019. “She is someone I have learned so much from and one of the best people at making people feel comfortable,” says Green. Hair stylist Lucas Wilson was a key collaborator on Green's book Bombshell. “I love the way Lucas approaches hair,” Green says. “He embraces hair. He lets hair be hair. It's not perfect hair. But it is gorgeous hair.” Of make-up artist Fulvia Farolfi, Green says: “She is a legend. She has been working in the industry for a long time. She makes people feel really comfortable. And there is no one in the industry who can do a better full-body bronze.” Set designer Dylan Bailey's “impeccable taste” and experience on set were key to the success of the shoot, says Green. “He's like a creative consultant. His opinion matters a lot.” Also contributing was Marcs Goldberg, who has not only modelled for Green but also worked as a set designer on previous projects. “She understands how my photography works and what it's like to be the subject. She helped me build the concept,” Green says. “Once we got to Miami we walked up and down the beaches together looking for things to play with the nude concept – like palm leaves, driftwood, or seaweed. She would also be my stand-in [to provide a visual reference for the shot ahead of the talent arriving].”
“A stamp of approval”
Working with themes such as contemporary identity, sexuality, and style, Green has become known for a body of work that is astonishingly intimate and captures and amplifies the essential beauty of his subjects.
His work has appeared in such publications as Dazed, L'Uomo Vogue, Time, Vogue, W Magazine, and WSJ Magazine. He has also collaborated with a range of high-end fashion labels. Green's first book, Young New York (2019, Aperture), is a collection of portraits taken of friends and collaborators in the parks of downtown New York that chronicles the scope of queer identity of the past decade. In 2022, he founded New York Life Gallery in Chinatown, which showcases emerging and mid-career artists, unknown archives, and 20th-century artworks. In shooting The Cal™, the Michigan-born, New York-based photographer joins prominent artists such as Norman Parkinson, Terence Donovan, Helmut Newton, Bruce Weber, Annie Leibovitz, Paolo Roversi, and Steven Meisel. “To be included in this group of legendary photographers who have shot the Calendar – many of whom inspired me to become a photographer – is just huge,” says Green. “It's a stamp of approval and a huge career moment.”
