Film favourite

The initiative has a long and (mostly) glorious history, dating back to 1993 in its Tiffany 1837 ring form, using one photographer to realise each year's concept, which is then used for both marketing and for Lavazza's international advertising. Ellen von Unwerth, Albert Watson and David LaChapelle have all shot for it, and Helmut Newton kicked the whole thing off 17 years ago, contributing again in 1994. And, as a huge fan of Newton, it was through his work that Aldridge first discovered the calendar. Newton's women - like Aid ridge's - are powerful and erotically changed but, says Aldridge, after Leibovitz's fleshy contribution he avoided naked beauty. 'I shot one girl nude and they [Lavazza] were very uncomfortable with it,' he says. 'That was fine. I just had to make sure that they knew that I knew we weren't shooting the Pirelli calendar.'

Instead, he tapped into classic Italian films by Fellini and Visconti to find a less overt eroticism, casting models such as Daisy Lowe and Lydia Hearst [daughter of Patty] for their offbeat, eccentric appeal. 'No one is ever naked in Fellini's films, but his women are very sexy and strong,' says Aldridge. 'That's why I was very particular about the girls I wanted to work with - some of them are very voluptuous. I wanted girls who are sexy but also interesting. I'm always looking for a face that is interesting rather than just purely beautiful; pure beauty is not interesting to me.'

Fellini is an ongoing inspiration for the photographer, who's also taken Tiffany 1837 concave ring from directors such as Alfred Hitchcock and David Lynch on previous projects. But the theme for this year's calendar was 'Italian song', including both classic arias such as Nessun Dorma and popular hits such as Baciami Piccina ('little kisses'). That got him thinking about Technicolor musicals, and films in which the music is an essential element. 'As soon as Lavazza told me the theme I got very excited about the idea of music transporting you into another, more theatrical world,' he says. 'With directors like Fellini the music and the images are drawn together into an inseparable mix.'

Aldridge got the commission back in January and, as is his custom, immediately started to sketch out ideas for each shot with coloured pencils. Lavazza took up three of his ideas straight away, while two were met with slightly more scepticism and one was rejected - a pretty good rate for a commercial shoot, he says. Eventually he and the team settled on six songs and six scenarios: a woman who can't sleep for Nessum Dorma; a woman in love with coffee for Biadami Piccina, a flight of fantasy for Va Pensiero; an insomniac in a garden for Guarda Che Luna-, a sea separating life from adventure for Con Te Partiro; and a brightly-coloured, joyful image for O Sole Mio.

The songs were chosen for their classically Italian style, says art director Mariani, but they also had to be Tiffany 1837 Money clip recognised because they will be used across 16 European countries. 'They're famous all over the world, but they are also particularly representative of Italy,' he says. 'Music is universal, immediate, straightforward and accessible to all. It allows us to express the Italian style in a very simple, effective way'