Emma Watson, Claire Foy and Kristen Stewart transform into Shakespeare's Juliet for 2020 Pirelli calendar

Emma Watson, Claire Foy and Kristen Stewart are among the famous faces who have modelled for Pirelli’s 2020 calendar.

The annual calendar, compiled by the Italian tire company, sees 29-year-old Watson looking almost unrecognisable as William Shakespeare’s Juliet.

Dressed in a white headdress and a corset, the former ‘Harry Potter’ star takes on the role of ‘Romeo and Juliet’s’ heroine for the prestigious annual calendar.

Emma Watson in the 2020 Pirelli calendar. [Photo: 2020 Pirelli Calendar by Paolo Roversi]
Emma Watson in the 2020 Pirelli calendar. [Photo: 2020 Pirelli Calendar by Paolo Roversi]
Emma Watson in the 2020 Pirelli calendar. [Photo: 2020 Pirelli Calendar by Paolo Roversi]
Emma Watson in the 2020 Pirelli calendar. [Photo: 2020 Pirelli Calendar by Paolo Roversi]

‘The Crown’ actor Claire Foy is also featured, wearing an Elizabethan style headdress and gown in one of the images.

Actor Kristen Stewart, singers Chris Lee and Rosalía, artist Stella Roversi and actors Indya Moore and Yara Shahidi also star in the 47th edition of the calendar.

All of the women depict Juliet in different guises.

The calendar alternates between romantic, soft-focus shots of the subjects wearing Elizabethan style costume together with black and white, moodier shots of them wearing more contemporary dress.

Roversi said of his calendar: “I am still searching for my Juliet and I will be searching all my life. Because Juliet is a dream”.

READ MORE: 2018 Pirelli calendar features all-black all-star cast

This year photographer Paolo Roversi has shot the calendar.

For the first time, this year’s calendar is also accompanied by a short, 18-minute-long film.

The project “takes its cue from the Shakespearean drama and the intersection of love, strength, youth and beauty embodied by its female protagonist”, according to a statement by Pirelli.

Claire Foy in the 2020 Pirelli calendar. [Photo: 2020 Pirelli Calendar by Paolo Roversi]
Claire Foy in the 2020 Pirelli calendar. [Photo: 2020 Pirelli Calendar by Paolo Roversi]

The Pirelli calendar

The Pirelli calendar, also known as “The Cal”, is produced annually by its namesake Italian tyre company. It was created by British art director Derek Forsyth and has been produced annually since 1964.

Kristen Stewart in the 2020 Pirelli calendar. [Photo: 2020 Pirelli Calendar by Paolo Roversi]
Kristen Stewart in the 2020 Pirelli calendar. [Photo: 2020 Pirelli Calendar by Paolo Roversi]
Mia Goth in the 2020 Pirelli calendar. [Photo: 2020 Pirelli Calendar by Paolo Roversi]
Mia Goth in the 2020 Pirelli calendar. [Photo: 2020 Pirelli Calendar by Paolo Roversi]

READ MORE: Pirelli's 2017 calendar shuns retouching in favour of Hollywood's natural beauty

It was originally based around clothed subjects but became a “glamour” calendar featuring tasteful nude images form the 80s onwards.

Photographer Annie Leibovitz was called upon to revise the 2016 calendar and shot her subjects almost entirely clothed.

The calendar has also been given a refresh in the wake of the MeToo movement, and became more about “telling stories”, in the words of Scottish photographer Albert Watson, who shot the 2019 calendar.