Aart Verrips never saw himself becoming a photographer. As a teenager, he studied to become a pastry chef, but a chance meeting changed all that. Suddenly, he found himself in the fashion world, where he started to challenge the canons of traditional beauty, and to celebrate imperfection as what makes people unique. For the Lavazza 2024 calendar, he depicts four characters: the explorer, the healer, the vanguard and the matriarch – interpreted by the young activist Zulaikha Patel.