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 worked in classical music and Piggott worked in graphic design. Piggott was an assistant photographer and Alaş 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. The team has worked for such magazines as
Vogue, Vogue Paris, Vogue Italia, Interview, Love, W, Pop Magazine, Numéro and
Arena Homme +. Some of their major clients have included fashion labels such as
Dior,
Louis Vuitton,
Missoni,
Giorgio Armani,
Roberto Cavalli,
Fendi,
Kenzo and
Miu Miu. They have created the images for perfume houses such as
Gucci,
Yves St Laurent,
Givenchy and
Lancôme. Alaş and Piggott have also worked with celebrities including
Madonna,
Marion Cotillard,
Cara Delevingne,
Adele,
Adriana Lima,
Lady Gaga,
Julia Roberts,
Rihanna,
Shakira,
Jennifer Lopez,
Ariana Grande,
Linda Evangelista,
Gisele Bündchen,
Björk,
Gigi Hadid,
Kendall Jenner,
Lindsay Lohan,
Scarlett Johansson,
Charlotte Rampling,
Bella Hadid,
Kylie Minogue,
Sophie Ellis-Bextor,
Victoria Beckham, and have shot album covers for
Fergie,
Taylor Swift (
Reputation and
The Life of a Showgirl) and
Nicki Minaj. They created the cover art for
Rob Dougan's 2002 CD
Furious Angels. In 2015, Mert and Marcus were awarded Honorary Fellowship of the
Royal Photographic Society. In 2018, Mert and Marcus won the Isabella Blow Award for Fashion Creator.
Album covers photographed •
Sophie Ellis-Bextor –
Read My Lips (2001) •
Rob Dougan -
Furious Angels (2002) •
Kylie Minogue –
Body Language (2003) •
Jennifer Lopez –
Rebirth (2005) •
Shakira –
She Wolf (2009) •
Madonna –
MDNA (2012) • Madonna –
Rebel Heart (2015) •
Fergie -
Double Dutchess (2017) •
Shania Twain -
Now (2017) •
Taylor Swift –
Reputation (2017) •
Nicki Minaj –
Queen (2018) •
Cher –
Forever (2024) • Taylor Swift –
The Life of a Showgirl (2025) ==References==