Emma Watson and Kristen Stewart star in Shakespeare-themed Pirelli calendar

‘They all brought intensity and lots of emotion to a project that above all glorifies beauty and love,’ says photographer Paolo Roversi

A behind-the-scenes look at the 2020 Pirelli calendar has been released, featuring stars including Emma Watson, Yara Shahidi and Kristen Stewart in the role of William Shakespeare’s tragic heroine Juliet Capulet.

Captured by Italian fashion photographer Paolo Roversi, the “Looking for Juliet” photo shoot features nine women each presenting an individual interpretation of the English playwright’s love-struck character.

The photographer’s subjects performed excerpts from Romeo and Juliet while being shot by Roversi in Paris and Verona, the Italian city where the Renaissance play is set.

“There’s no Romeo here, there are only Juliets who show up for a casting call, respond to questions, and reveal their own version of the character before re-enacting a passage from the tragedy, in costume,” Roversi told American Vogue.

Click through the gallery above to see the behind-the-scenes shots by Italian photographer Alessandro Scotti of Roversi’s Pirelli calendar.

First launched in 1964, the Pirelli calendar was formerly perceived as a pin-up calendar.

However, in recent years it has taken great strides to champion female empowerment, such as in last year’s iteration starring model Gigi Hadid, ballet dancer Misty Copeland and actor Laetitia Casta.

The subjects of this year’s Pirelli calendar were photographed in achromatic surroundings, in grey, barren rooms and in gothic courtyards.

They each wore distinct ensembles to reflect their interpretations of Juliet, some opting for a feminine look and others choosing to dress in a more androgynous manner.

Watson and Stewart wore two of the most contrasting outfits, the former in a bubblegum-pink, high-neck dress with a sheer, white headdress and the latter in a white, wide-legged trouser and black jacket combo.

After capturing this year’s calendar in May, Roversi divulged that he found it “moving” to witness actors such as Watson, Shahidi and Stewart “audition like it was their first casting”.

“There’s something so innocent, naïve, and sincere about it that really corresponds to Juliet,” the photographer stated.

Also photographed for the 2020 calendar were actors Claire Foy, Mia Goth and Indya Moore, singers Chris Lee and Rosalia, and artist Stella Roversi, daughter of the photographer.

Roversi explained that he wanted to choose women for the project “who would correspond to a kind of a journey featuring women of today from different countries and cultures”.

“Every one of them was marvellous,” the photographer said. “They all brought intensity and lots of emotion to a project that above all glorifies beauty and love.”

Shahidi, best-known for her roles in American sitcoms Black-ish and Grown-ish, told American Vogue that she brought her own annotated copy of Romeo and Juliet to set.

The actor explained that she took inspiration from the Victorian era when devising her look, opting to utilise her natural, curly hair as part of her ensemble.

“I love my curls, so we turned them into a crown,” the 19-year-old said.

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