Irina Shayk Hits A Career Milestone

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The 2026  Pirelli Calendar is here! One of the most coveted gigs for any model is an appearance on the famed calendar, which turned to the creative eye of photographer Sølve Sundsbø for the first time  Next year’s just released calendar focuses on ‘the elements’ and was shot in studios across London and New York City, as well as the countryside of Norfolk and Essex in England. Familiar faces include Irina Shayk. Tilda Swinton, Gwendoline Christie, FKA Twigs, Venus Williams, Eva Herzigová, Susie Cave, Adria Arjona, Du Juan, Luisa Ranieri, and Isabella Rossellini. It’s Shayk’s first turn on the calendar, and The Daily recently met us with her at the new Faena hotel in Manhattan to talk about this career milestone and why now was the time to make her Pirelli debut.

Is this really your first time on the calendar?
It’s so crazy.  Pirelli was always on my bucket list, and I always wanted to be part of it. My favorite calendar was in 2009 by Peter Beard. I love him dearly; I’m so sad he’s not with us anymore. I remember he was obsessed with Africa, and he went to Botswana and he shot the most gorgeous girls with these wild animals in the background. This stuck to my memories. I wanted to be part of it. I had the privilege to work with him, and we became friends. It’s so crazy that now is the 52nd edition of the calendar, [and] I’m finally part of it. I’m so happy that it’s happened now. Pirelli has evolved into celebrating women’s empowerment, inclusivity, [and] it’s more about togetherness. It’s not about a perfect model body. It’s more about who you are as a woman, who you are as a human being, from the inside out.

What month are you in the calendar?
There’s no months on this one. I asked Sølve the same question, and he said, “You can be any month.” I love that, because it’s not about putting women in boxes, “You can be this and that, you can’t be part of the calendar because you’re this shape.” As a model, I’ve been put in a lot of boxes out there: “She’s too commercial. She’s this. She can’t do this.” It’s very refreshing to see these standards blow away into something where we’re celebrating humanity. We’re celebrating women, women’s empowerment, and inclusivity.

Have you and Sølve worked together many times before?
I worked with him once back in 2016 for GQ. Now, 10 years later, we’ve worked with Pirelli. Sølve is such a great human, not only as a photographer. He’s all about magic. He’s a perfectionist in this magical way. I’m [also] a perfectionist.

Shayk and some of the other talent on the 2026 calendar (Courtesy Gettty Images)

Tell me a little bit more about the shoot. Where did you shoot it, and did you have any input into this?  
We shot in New York. It was an unexpected call. I was on my way back from Turkey, from vacation, eating Turkish delights for two weeks. I was landing in New York, and they’re like, “Oh, do you want to be part of the Pirelli Calendar?” I was like, “Yes! I’ve waited for so long!” It was an unexpected last-minute thing, which I love.  Once we are on set, I ask, “Who is she?” I asked what he wants to capture, and he was talking all about the emotions and this beauty from inside. It was very important to let my control freak side go and just be in the moment, and don’t think about, “The hair has to be perfect, this has to be perfect.” It was definitely a creative process together. Hair and makeup were secondary; it’s all about how you feel, what do you think about this? Togetherness in the creative process is very important for me.

What I’m kind of hearing from you is when you’re modeling, you approach it as a character like an actor. Are you taking acting classes?
No, but I can definitely act it out. Sometimes you play a character on a fashion shoot, and sometimes you are yourself. It’s all about confidence. It’s all about feeling comfortable in your own skin, because sometimes people ask me to do crazy stuff. I like to challenge myself. Even this thing with the wind and challenging emotions, that was very challenging for me. It’s not about being pretty, or pretty poses, it’s about literally letting go. Don’t try to make a perfect body shape. It’s all about this emotion, the freedom, to really connect to that. That was very challenging for me.

What else do you have lined up for the rest of the year?
I have a couple of exciting covers coming out. People always say, “Okay, what else do you want to achieve? You did everything.” There is always something out there. I feel like the day you say, “Okay, and that’s it. That’s enough. I achieved everything,” that’s the day when you go down or up. It’s the dynamic of life moving. You challenge a couple of things, because the fashion industry can definitely put you in a box and say you cannot do certain stuff. Working through “No”‘s, turning them into “Yes”‘s. Just looking forward to the holidays, spending my time with my daughter.

Why does every model want to be a part of the Pirelli Calendar? Is a rite of passage?  
It started as an idea of this sophisticated, legendary image where it’s sexy, very seductive, and so iconic. I wanted to be part of it. But now it’s shifted into celebrating every woman, every age. It doesn’t matter where you’re from, it doesn’t matter your shape. With time, it has shifted.  Now, I want to be part of it because of who you are in the company with. I want to be in the company of these women. I feel like it happened for a reason. I feel like I have become more whole. I’m in a place in my life where I’m happy with being a mother and being a certain age, being exposed to certain life experiences. It’s a perfect time for me to be part of it as a woman of power.  We’re celebrating every woman in a different stage of their lives. I’m not even saying age, [just] different stages of their life, and we bring them in together. Women can be powerful at 20. Women can be powerful at 40, 70, 80, even 90!

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