Behind the scenes of the Pirelli 2008 calendar

Posted by Helen Lee at 7:31 pm December 10th, 2007 | 1 comment

The 35th edition of the 2008 Pirelli Calendar pays homage to China.

Set in the picturesque streets of the old French Concessions in Shanghai, the 23-page calendar features models, Agyness Dean, Lily Donaldson, Doutzen Kroes, Catherine Mc Neil, Gemma Ward, Sasha Pivovarova, Du Juan, Mo Wan Dan, Maggie Cheung, Coco Rocha and Caroline Trentini.

Watch the behind the scenes video courtesy of Portuguese TV above, and check out the final pictures at the Pirelli website.

The calendar was photographed by Patrick Demarchelier and is a recount of the pomp of ancient China, with its splendour and the colours in which the Oriental myth of female beauty – perfection, purity, grace – is searched out.

“Very often I find Western people seem to go for the more cliché Chinese faces: long hair, slanted eyes. All that has changed I think. Many Chinese women are graceful; I think we have an inner grace that’s more rare than you find in the West,” affirmed Maggie Cheung, the well-known Chinese actress.