Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi among galaxy of screen stars in Pirelli’s 2017 calendar

German Peter Lindbergh, whose third Pirelli calendar this is, says its theme is ‘that talent is more important than a great body’. Among actresses to feature are Nicole Kidman, Kate Winslet, Alicia Vikander and 71-year-old Helen Mirren

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Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi features in the 2017 Pirelli calendar. Photo: AFP/Pool

Published: 1:57pm, 29 Aug 2016Updated: 1:57pm, 29 Aug 2016

Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi is among the screen stars featured in Pirelli’s 2017 calendar – which looks more like the ultimate Oscars red carpet line-up than the stuff of salacious pin-ups.

Also featured are Nicole Kidman, Uma Thurman, Kate Winslet, Julianne Moore, Robin Wright, Rooney Mara, Lupita Nyong’o, Penelope Cruz, Jessica Chastain, Lea Seydoux, and Charlotte Rampling. The youngest model, Alicia Vikander, is 27, the oldest, Helen Mirren, 71.

Pirelli calendar at 50: soft-porn staple that won fashion set over

A screen grab shows Nicole Kidman posing for the Pirelli Calendar 2017 .

Penelope Cruz posing for the Pirelli Calendar 2017.

Kate Winslet posing for the Pirelli Calendar 2017.

German photographer Peter Lindbergh, who also shot Pirelli’s trade calendar in 1996 and 2002, has been influential in shifting its concept from titillation towards a more cerebral sex appeal. This calendar features more character, less skin; more T-shirts and turtlenecks, fewer bikinis.

Pirelli calendars are more often associated with shots such as this one, of model Laetitia Casta, shot by photographer Herb Ritts for the 1999 edition. Photo: Reuters

In recent years Pirelli calendar photographers have moved away from its traditional look. The 2013 calendar, shot by American photographer Steve McCurry, included this image of a young woman fruit seller in Rio de Janeiro. Photo: EPA

Lindbergh tells Vogue his visual theme is “that talent is more important than a great body”.

Part of the Pirelli legend is that the calendar is not for sale, but sent to a high rollers and international public figures. This exclusivity is now entirely academic – the images are widely published on the internet.