Mert and Marcus

Mert and Marcus is the working name of two fashion photographers (Mert Alaş and Marcus Piggott) who work together on a collaborative basis. Their work and style is influenced by the photographer Guy Bourdin and have pioneered the use of digital manipulation within their field. They were both born in 1971.

Mert Alaş, born in Turkey and Marcus Piggott, born in Wales, met in England in 1994 after having worked for a brief period in different areas, Alaş in classical music and Piggott in graphic design. Piggott was an assistant photographer and Alas was a fashion photo modeler. After working together in the photography business, they decided to create a team. When they showed their first photos to Dazed and Confused, the London fashion magazine, they immediately made the cover.

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".

The team now works for such magazines such as Vogue USA, Vogue Paris, Vogue Italia, Interview Magazine, The Love Magazine, W Magazine, Pop Magazine, Numéro and Arena Homme Plus. Some of their major clients are fashion labels such as Dior, Louis Vuitton, Missoni, Giorgio Armani, Roberto Cavalli, Fendi, Kenzo and Miu Miu. They created the images for perfume houses such as Gucci, Yves St Laurent, Givenchy and Lancôme.

Alas and Piggott have also worked with celebrities including Madonna, Marion Cotillard, Adriana Lima, Lady Gaga, Julia Roberts, Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, Linda Evangelista, Gisele Bündchen, Björk, Lindsay Lohan, Scarlett Johansson, Charlotte Rampling, Kylie Minogue, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and most recently Victoria Beckham for a Giorgio Armani shoot.

They have also worked for Rob Dougan's for the cover art of Furious Angels CD.

In 2015, Mert & Marcus were awarded Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society