Mert & Marcus

Despite the fact I wear black pretty much 24/7 you might be surprised out that I do actually love colour! I know real shocker right. 

Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott are two of the most inventive photographers working in fashion today. Their aesthetic is highly polished, colour-saturated and hyperreal. Seen as colourist photographers as they focus highly on their colour aesthetic. Mert & Marcus, as they are known in the industry, have worked for W, American Vogue, Pop, Numero and Arena Homme, among many other titles. Their commercial clients include Louis Vuitton , Gucci, Pucci, Versace, Missoni, Giorgio Armani , Roberto Cavalli, Fendi, Kenzo, MAC and Miu Miu .

Alas told The New Yorker: “Branding and making something where it’s an identity for a brand at the end becomes very joyful. On the other hand, in editorial you kind of can do whatever you want. I couldn’t do without one or the other.”

Mert & Marcus have lent their skills to many fragrance campaigns for brands including Gucci, Givenchy, Yves Saint Laurent and Lancôme. “Obviously, we are here to sell a product — you can’t disguise that fact — but the trick is to say that message in an unconventional way, where it doesn’t become just about that sale,” Alas told Time in 2003.

The photographers were both born in 1971, Alas in Turkey and Piggott in Wales. The pair met in 1994 in England. At the time Piggott was a photographer’s assistant and Alas was a fashion model, and the two quickly built a rapport and decided to work together. Their joint abilities were clear from the beginning. The first photos the duo submitted to Dazed & Confused made the cover which is a really rare thing to do. 

A few years ago I would have said that this style of photography would have hands down been some of my favourite. Because it's bold, bright, and in your face which is was I like. As I've grown up though and as my style has changed I've become much more into more understated pieces, images where you have to look beyond the initial picture into the bigger picture. 

They are known for their portraits of sophisticated, powerful women: "The difference between us and other photographers is that we care a lot about appearance," says Alaş. "We spend most of the time in the make-up and hairstyling rooms"

This image is one of my favourites by Mert & Marcus, I think because it's not really like anything else I have ever seen before in fashion photography. I really like the mirror reflection effect- I think it's really effective and is something that I would definitely try on future projects. It's a simple idea that executes well. It also enables you to show both the front and back view in one photograph, even though it's not 3D it adds more definition to the shot. Making it look less 2D and flat. 

I LOVE this photograph, I just think it's so beautiful with the block of red across the eyes, even though it's not in the centre of the image it still draws your eyes straight to that red stripe. As you most probably know if you've been reading my blog for a while now, I love black & white photography but sometimes it is nice to have colour there too. As much as I want to print out all my photos in black & white, I do appreciate colour too. 

What do you prefer black & white or colour?

Comment below.

Take care & I'll see you soon.

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Pictures are taken from Google.