Nov. 30--When Mellody Hobson got the call to be in the 2016 Pirelli calendar, her husband George Lucas raised an eyebrow and said "Do you know what that is?," Hobson recalled to The New York Times in an article posted online Monday.
Hobson, the president of Chicago-based Ariel Investments, and Oak Park writer-turned-actress Tavi Gevinson are two of the celebrities included in next year's Pirelli calendar, which typically features models in sexy poses captured by famous photographers.
Annie Leibovitz shot the 2016 calendar, which represents a change in focus to honor the "rise of the shero" -- the female hero, Jennifer Zimmerman, the global chief strategy officer for the McGarryBowen advertising agency, told the Times. Chicago-born rocker Patti Smith and author Fran Lebowitz are among the models.
The calendar, which dates back to 1964, will still include some skin shots. Comedian Amy Schumer poses nearly naked as she covers her chest with her right arm while tennis star Serena Williams is topless with her back to the camera.
Meanwhile, Hobson, 46, dons a black dress and jacket as the June model.
"I feel it helps put a new perspective on women of achievement," the Chicago native told the Times about the calendar. "You have to give them credit for being bold at this moment. We have a long way to go, but this is part of that journey."
Gevinson, 19, wears a long skirt while sitting in a chair in the August image.
"A white, able-bodied cis-gendered woman being naked is just not revolutionary anymore," Gevinson told the Times about the shift in the calendar's aesthetic. "I don't think anyone is going to be like, 'Damn, I wanted those naked chicks.'"
