Lakshmi Menon: Pirelli Calendar 2027 Artist

“I hate being photographed. I hate the camera. For me to do this, it was basically to overcome my shyness. I was very, very shy. I still am. The camera sort of helped me to open that space up for myself”

These are not sentiments you'd expect to hear from trailblazing Indian supermodel Lakshmi Menon, who shot to fame two decades ago walking international runways for major fashion houses. Yet, growing up, a career in front of the camera was the last thing on Menon's mind.

“I wanted to be a teacher, a doctor, an engineer, a pilot. There were so many things, it just kept changing; every age had its own thing… that I wanted to be”

Menon's modelling journey began when she was scouted while studying sociology at Bangalore University. She began doing the odd advertising job, then decided to pursue modelling as a profession after graduating. It was a time when few Indian fashion models were succeeding internationally and her breakthrough in 2006, when she was asked to walk in a Jean Paul Gaultier show in Paris, made waves.

“Now you see a lot more diverse faces, Indian faces, in fashion. These things take time, but there are a lot more Indian girls in the business now than there were when I was there. I think it was just me at that point”

Her Pirelli shoot with Norwegian photographer Sølve Sundsbø marks the model's second appearance in The Cal. She first featured in Karl Lagerfeld's Classical mythology-themed 2011 issue, posing alongside Erin Wasson and Bianca Balti. Menon says it was a privilege and an honour to be asked back, and she relished her first time working with Sundsbø.

“Every [photographer] has a way of looking, right? They all have an eye and I like the way [Sølve] approaches his work. He's very quick, he's decisive and he has a very singular vision in the sense that he knows what he wants, and once he gets it, he's good with it”

Menon was also excited by the shoot's use of colours inspired by Holi, the Hindu festival of spring, love and colours, and the spontaneous way “gorgeous yellows and oranges and pinks” were brought together.

“In India, we're not afraid of colours. To have a festival like Holi where you're just splashed with colours, that says a lot about us. And I think those colours really worked. It was quite beautiful. Those were the real striking images for me because I did see them on the screen later and I was blown away. They were absolutely gorgeous”

Born in Kerala, southwest India, Menon travelled extensively as a child due to her fathe's job in the Indian Army. But she and her brother would spend summers with her grandparents, learning to swim in the rivers. Today, she calls Goa home. How would she describe India to a visitor?

“What I always tell people is that you can't be indifferent towards India. You either love it or you hate it. It's one of those crazy places where you see different cultures and [cuisines] and dress, the languages, it's so diverse. Rajasthan could be a country on its own, and Kerala could be a country on its own. It's like these little countries all stitched together, [yet], somehow, we are all very cohesive. That's what I love about it, and that's what India is. That's what makes India special”

As for the 2027 Cal, she is excited about the collaboration between Sundsbø and Avani Rai, who is bringing her own vision to the ideas her late father, Raghu Rai, developed for the Calendar and what it will say about India.

“It will be interesting to see how those perspectives are brought together and stitched together. I would imagine it's something that represents India fully in its diversity, in its colours, in its sensuality. That's what I would be looking forward to in this Calendar”