The looks in “Haute Mess” certainly make a statement and that statement is hot tranny mess realness. Literally. In her always entertaining blog, Sozzani wrote that the spread might take its inspiration from “messy drags: untidy, dishevelled, counter-intuitive cross-dressers.” And that’s inspiration you can take to the bank. The Cut caught up with Sozzani, who by this point is more than accustomed to courting controversy, to discuss the editorial.

In typical frank Franca fashion, she utterly dismissed it as a bit of hubub over nothing.

“We wanted to make something quite extravagant,” the editrix explained. “It’s more to push people to be creative and extravagant…we just thought it was the concept of extravagance, of creativity, even something over-the-top, something that is not usual. If you want, you don’t dress like that, you don’t put on this kind of makeup, but it’s just to make a fake, to go over-the-top, it makes you happy in a way, more alive, more colorful — sometimes fashion looks sad.”

As for the backlash, Sozzani openly doesn’t give a damn: “I think it’s good that everyone sees what they wanted to see. As you know, I don’t care as much what people think, because I think that every time that you try to change something, people [say something else]. I respect everybody’s opinion.”

Well, maybe not everyone’s opinion. When asked about people who found the images classist and offensive, Sozzani shut that down real quick: ”There are so many sick people around the world that you cannot — I don’t care about them. I care about normal people. They want to read and see the normal way as we did. If they are sick, it’s not my problem. I am not a psychologist. They should find somebody who could help them.”

While Sozzani doesn’t rank “Haute Mess”as one of her most controversial spreads, she insists that wasn’t what she was going for to begin with: “It’s not that I want it to be controversial all the time, it’s happened. … You can just take pictures like in a catalog so you will never be controversial, but that’s not my choice of life.”

You certainly can’t fault Franca Sozzani for sticking to her guns, but what do you think? Is “Haute Mess” offensive — whether intentional or not — or just over-the-top fun? Click through for the entire editorial and sound off in the comments below.

Photos: Design Scene

Sorrenti is actually the first Italian to photograph the Pirelli Calendar, whose past lensmen have included Herb Ritts (1994, 1999), Richard Avedon (1995, 1997), Bruce Weber (1998, 2003), Annie Leibovitz (2000), Mario Testino (2001), Peter Lindbergh (1996, 2002), Patrick Demarchelier (2005, 2008), Mert and Marcus (2006), Inez and Vinoodh (2007), Terry Richardson (2010) and last year, Karl Lagerfeld.

For the shoot in Corsica, Sorrenti chose mostly women with whom he had previously worked, including supermodel among supermodels Kate Moss, whom the photographer has known for some 20 years — the two worked together on the iconic Calvin Klein “Obsession” campaign when Sorrenti was just 21 and Moss was practically still in diapers. In the “Making of ” short film that preceded a Q&A with Sorrenti, he remarked that he “couldn’t do this without her.”

Check out all 25 images from the 2012 Pirelli Calendar, featuring Saskia de Brauw, Edita Vilkeviciute, Margareth Madè, Lara Stone, Guinevere Van Seenus, Malgosia Bela, Milla Jovovich, Fontana,  Smalls,Poly and Moss.

Photos: W

Karen Elson for Tantrum Intimates.

Linda Evangelista for Lavez-Les Bien

Rupaul's Drag Race's Carmen Carrera for La Femme eau du toilette

Joel Schumacher's Made to Measure

Anna Dello Russo et al for Visage

Joan Rivers and Dennis Basso for Bruce Hockschmidt Furs

Toddlers & Tiaras' Eden Wood for Pizzazz clothing

Karen Elson, Guinevere van Seenus, and Coco Rocha for Vainglorious fragrance

Petra Ecclestone for Petra perfume

There are faces and there’s Linda Fucking Evangelista.

Winners

Womenswear Designer of the Year: Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, Proenza Schouler

The kids, Jack and Laz

Menswear Designer of the Year: Michael Bastian

Bastian next to a surprisingly sexy Gerard Butler

Accessory Designer of the Year: Alexander Wang

Wang with fairy godmother, Iris Apfel

Prabal saddling up next to Alessandra Ambrosio

Super adorable pocket person Eddie Borgo with Guinevere Van Seenus

Gags

Rosie Rubenstein

Philo with BFF Kanye West

Fashion rag 10 is celebrating their tenth this year so it only makes sense that they’d want to do it up. And do it up they have, putting legendary models Guinevere van Seenus and Tony Ward on their women’s and men’s covers, respectively. An example of how to celebrate in style and how to age gracefully.

Check out full spread at Envy!

LINK LOVE: Fashion Copious

Guinevere van Seenus sparkles in the pages of Vogue UK’s April edition wearing the current trend of underwear as outerwear and the side braid.

More images on Fashionising

The Rodarte sisters teamed up with video artist Todd Cole to create a very artsy film, called Aanteni (translates to Nowness), which features model Guinevere van Seenus in three diffrent looks from the label’s Spring 2010 collection.

LINK LOVE: Highsnobette

An interesting styling idea by AnOther Magazine, shot by Paolo Roversi, Guinevere van Seenus’ stockings are pulled down over her heels.

Gallery on Fashionising

Craig McDean shot Guinevere van Seenus and Elena Sudakova for Vogue UK.

GALLERY: Cult

LINK: 2photo

Lara Stone, Edita Vikeviciute and Guinevere Van Seenus star in this 40′s inspired editorial where tanning in your bra at the park and wearing Prada’s boots in the water is totally normal. I love that stylists are actually taking the boots fishing inspired roots into consideration.

GALLERY: Sunday in the Park

SOURCE: Fashion Gone Rogue

Lush is the word that immediately coms to mind while looking at this amazing editorial shot in Cumberland Island, Georgia. Guinevere Van Seenus literally looks like a bird about to fly away in this Alexander Mcqueen work of art. I’m amazed that she could move her arms at all, yet somehow Guinevere was able to look as graceful as dove. Check cult to see more amazing posing in this greenhouse-esque environment.

GALLERY: Sanctuary

SOURCE: W Magazine

Carine Roitfeld styled this spread herself, with the help of photographer Mario Sorrenti. Titled ‘Serie Noire,’ the spread stars models Guinevere Van Seenus and Eniko Mihalik.

GALLERY: Serie Noire

SOURCE: 212dressingroom

Can we now consider nipple tassels part of the fashion world?

Vogue UK wants you to think so, in their June “Show and Tell” spread.

Guinevere van Seenus posed for Paolo Roversi in this burlesque-inspired spread, full of American Apparel, Agent Provocateur, Armani, and lots of sequins.

GALLERY: Show and Tell, Vogue UK, June 2009.

For the story, “The Rules of Deception,” Mario Sorrenti shot Guinevere Van Seenus in a series of totally discordant but totally beautiful photographs.

Featured in issue #58 of V, the spread is teeming with sex, velocity, and incredible lighting.

GALLERY: The Rules of Deception.

Kristen Owe

Fashionista has reported a quite interesting ‘rumor.’ Supposedly, Calvin Klein is re-releasing CK One, one of his most popular fragrances. And, the greatest part, instead of Kate Moss and Marky Mark doing their best Zoolander kissy face pose, Kirsten Owen, Guinevere van Seenus and Agyness Deyn will be posing for the ad.

Interesting…Will they all be naked? And why don’t we have a guy in the mix here?