Tim Walker’s all-black Pirelli calendar 2018 revealed

The Pirelli 2018 calendar photographed by Tim Walker has been revealed, featuring an all-black cast for the second time in its history. Tim worked with creative director and set designer Shona Heath and Vogue UK editor Edward Enninful, who was the stylist behind the elaborate costumes.

The calendar depicts Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and the photographer says he was inspired by the original Lewis Carroll story as well as John Tenniel’s illustrations for the book’s first edition in 1865. This manifested as 28 shots in 20 different sets by Shona Heath. “Alice has been told so many times,” Tim said in a statement. “I think I wanted to go back to the genesis of the imagination behind Lewis Carroll so that you could tell it from the very beginning again. I wanted to find a different and original angle.”

Cast members include Lupita Nyong’o, Naomi Campbell, RuPaul, Sasha Lane, Thando Hopa, Sean Combs, Whoopi Goldberg, Duckie Thot, Adwoa Aboah, Djimon Hounsou, Jaha Dukureh and Lil Yachty. Terence Donovan’s 1985 calendar was the last to star an all-black cast.

Edward Enninful said of the theme: “It is very important that the story of Alice be told to a new generation. Her adventure in Wonderland resonates with the world we live in today; obstacles we have to overcome and the idea of celebrating difference…To see a black Alice today means children of all races can embrace the idea of diversity from a very young age and also acknowledge that beauty comes in all colours. Culturally we are living in a diverse world. Projects like this remarkable Pirelli Calendar demonstrate that there is still hope in what sometimes feels like an increasingly cynical reality”.