The 2008 Lavazza Calendar

The Most Majestic Espresso Experience

The Most Majestic Espresso Experience, this is the title of the sixteenth edition of the Lavazza Calendar, is dedicated to important, aristocratic and determined women, women who feel like queens: in short, all women. It shows an enchanted and precious world in which queens surrounded by jewellery, silk, velvet and freely roaming animals proudly reign.
Created by the talented Scottish photographer Finlay MacKay, with art direction by the Armando Testa agency, the calendar illustrates the pageantry of imaginary courts through an original mix of pop and classical English schools of painting.

The six images are characterised by the constant allusion to the world of Art Nouveau through the reconstruction and staging of imagery in which MacKay “toys” with evocations of the courts of France, the imperial courts of China and even the chivalrous Middle Ages, revealing irony, sensuality and elegance in perfect keeping with the qualities of the famous Lavazza espresso.

Through seductive glances and sumptuous backdrops, the calendar queens beckon us to their courts for a majestic experience, but don’t be deceived: there are no favourites here. Every respectable queen has her king and, naturally, the king of the calendar is Lavazza espresso, the coffee that reigns supreme in every image.

More iconic than ever, the sixteenth edition of the Lavazza Calendar boasts the participation of two famous names in international fashion: Vivienne Westwood, who has loaned one of her creations to garb a calendar queen, and Damiani, which has bejewelled the queens for the occasion, emphasizing the luxury of these precious backdrops. Prudence Millinery  made the hats for the " July & August " and " November & December " pages.

This edition of the Lavazza Calendar, probably the richest in allusions, represents the exaltation of woman and her femininity, viewed here as beguiling muse, priestess and goddess, ever the sovereign queen of an exclusive and refined world ripe with a promise: everyone can afford a majestic coffee break, a moment of authentic luxury and sophistication, an extraordinary sensory experience. It’s merely a matter of choosing the right coffee, and Lavazza espresso always keeps its promise of making us feel like kings and queens ... at least for the time it takes to enjoy a regal coffee.