Overview
- Pirelli has presented its 2027 concept as an India-dedicated calendar credited to Sølve Sundsbø and the late Raghu Rai, with Rai listed posthumously and his daughter Avani Rai completing his contribution.
- Sølve Sundsbø shot staged portraiture on location in Rajasthan at sites such as Jaigarh Fort and Ajabgarh to provide an international, formal visual strand for the book.
- Avani Rai reoriented her father’s planned material into street-based documentary work in Old Delhi, photographing more than 200 local people including street artists, musicians and craftsmen while also appearing in images.
- The edition pairs well-known figures such as Freida Pinto, Anoushka Shankar, Rupi Kaur, Aditi Rao Hydari, Avantika Vandanapu and Padma Lakshmi with non-professional participants to create a dialogue between celebrity and everyday life.
- The project marks a deliberate editorial shift for Pirelli away from studio-focused celebrity nudity toward on-location storytelling, a change that highlights representation, foregrounds Indian visual traditions, and could reset expectations for future editions.