The 2023 Pirelli Calendar, titled Love Letters to the Muse was presented at the Pirelli Hangar Bicocca contemporary art museum in Milan. For this year’s calendar, photographer Emma Summerton captured muses Bella Hadid as The Sprite, Emily Ratajkowski as The Writer, Cara Delevingne as The Performer, Ashley Graham as The Activist, Karlie Kloss as The Tech Savant, Precious Lee as The Storyteller, Guinevere Van Seenus as The Photographer, Lauren Wasser as The Athlete, Kaya Wilkins as The Musician, Sasha Pivovarova as The Painter, Lila Moss as The Seer, Adwoa Aboah as The Queen, Adut Akech as The Dream Catcher and He Cong as The Sage. The Calendar brings together 28 shots of 14 models portrayed in the dreamy style that is a feature of Summerton’s work. Each model was chosen for their close affinity with the Muse they represented on the sets which were created in London and New York for shoots that took place in June and July art directed by Tenzin Wild.
In my shots, the borderline between the role that the models play and what they really are is not clearly defined and everything blends together to create a magical realism. – Emma Summerton
I love a bigger conversation with the models I’m working with about who they are, what they do, what their life is about. I think it opens up a different kind of collaboration, which creates a different, stronger image in my mind. – Emma Summerton
