HE is known for his line-up of brassy, busty models and his annual calendars of sexy women in saucy poses. But the new calendar next year appears to be making a "switch" to sweetness. Has Jeffrey Chung, founder of Jeffrey Chung Models, cleaned up his act?

The Exotic Calendar 2008 - which will be launched and distributed to his clients at a party at DXO on 5 Dec - is relatively milder than previous editions. You might recall his 2005 calendar, Irresistible, which featured girls in suggestive poses, and it was slammed by some for being "sleazy". About 5,000 copies of the calendar were printed. In 1998's calendar, the models were photographed covering their breasts with porcelain bowls and butterfly props. Comparatively, the girls in next year's calendar look sweet and tame. Showing slightly more skin are just busty Ms May and Ms June, who appear in string bikinis. And save for Ms August's reclined, throwback look, most of the other poses are more cutesy.

Jeffrey Chung and his models

PLAYING IT SAFE

So what happened? Are the wild (calendar) days over for Mr Chung?

The 40-year-old admitted that he's playing it safe.

"If it's overly sexy, people may misinterpret it as sleazy. So we're playing it on the safe side.

"The pictures are nice and sexy and shows the definition of the models," he told The New Paper.

However, he added that people have different interpretations of sexiness.

"I don't want to compare too much and give ourselves too much stress.

"And you can't do the same (near-nudity shots) every year. People would say you have no (other) strategy," he said. Mr Chung calls his 2008 calendar "exotic".

"The concept is to portray the exotic feel and charms of the models. It's exciting in a different way," he said.

But does "exciting" include swimwear like the pink "granny" two-piece on the March girl and the staid, black bandeau on Ms November?

"If you see the same style of bikini worn by the models every month, it'll be very boring," was his reply.

Photographer Mr Martin T said the theme he was given was "Sports Illustrated", after the magazine's famous swimsuit edition. He said Mr Chung "wanted that kind of flow".

"Not too sexy, not too provocative, just swimwear, in that beach resort kind of feel," the photographer added, saying he was surprised at first by the new direction.

Since 1993, Jeffrey Chung Models has been producing calendars every year to give out to its clients. Only the 2005 and 2006 calendars were available for sale.

The calendars that are privately distributed and not meant for sale do not require approval from the Media Development Authority. Ms Manju, who is in her 20s and the model for May in next year's calendar, has done five years' worth of calendars. She bristled when the word "tame" was suggested.

It's not tame. It's "different", she pointed out. "We don't want people to say, "Oh, this year, it's nudity again,?" she said. She liked this year's shoot as it was all outdoors - mainly along the East Coast Park area. Her previous calendar pictures were all done indoors.

The model for January, Ms Angel Chua, has posed in every calendar since she joined the agency in 1996. This year, it was more "fashion style", not so much "sexy posing", she said. Ms Chua, who is known as the "ABC Stout" woman for posing in a half-nude poster, is no stranger to sexy posing.

In 2003's calendar, she wore porcelain bowls over her breasts. "No matter what kind of shoot, I enjoy doing it. As a model, you have to be professional," she said.

Mr Chung claimed he has not received any public complaints about his calendars. So does he think his 2008 calendar will fight for clients' precious desktop space among a plethora of other calendars featuring better-looking, bikini-clad girls?

After all, he had said in 2004 when promoting the controversial 2005 calendar: "If we have the girls dressed in bikinis, then we would have to compete with many bikini calendars out there."

To this, Jeffrey said he is not out to compete.

"This is just a form of publicity material. The purpose is to promote our models, show that they are in top form, and to remind our clients of our telephone numbers and address," he added.

CLIENTS ASK FOR MORE

But Jeffrey acknowledged that when he produces a sexy swimwear calendar, he gets more calls from clients asking for more copies.

"The moment we do sexy (calendars), the 1,000 copies get distributed very quickly and we can see that it'd be on our clients' desks the whole year," he added with a chuckle.

When he played with creative hairstyling one year and classy evening wear another year, he said the response to the calendars were lukewarm.

He said: "I would think Singaporeans are a bit naughty and fun. If you give them something common, they won't give it a second look. I don't think the Exotic Calendar 2008 is common."

What does the intended audience - the guys over 23 - think?

Mr Ng Cheehao, 27, a risk manager, said "It's not what I would expect" after he was shown the pictures. He said the agency's calendar's selling point was girls with good assets, but he does not think it is capitalising on them this year.

Undergraduate Goo Chun Song, also 27, said: "Nothing spectacular about this one."