When fashion becomes erotic art: Inside Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott’s vision
Crisp, sleek and uber-cool, the erotic fashion photography of Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott is as sensual as it gets without ever succumbing to pandering for that purpose.
Together, they simply render images as though Michelangelo may well have carved out the features. In this way, without adhering to any stylised tropes, their work is distinctly individual.
As the latest Taschen publication, Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, explains: “Mert Alas, born in Turkey, and Marcus Piggott, born in Wales, met in 1994, at a party on a pier in Hastings, England. Piggott asked Alas for a light, the pair got talking, and rapidly discovered they had plenty in common, not least a love of fashion. Three years later, the duo now known as Mert and Marcus had moved into a derelict loft in East London, converted it into a studio, and had their first collaborative photographic work published in Dazed & Confused.”
Since then, they developed their own oeuvre of sensual fashion photography that proves as empowering and progressive as it is artful. As stated in the core tenet of their work: “Powerful women, women with a meaning, a you-don’t-have-to-talk-or-move-too-much-to-tell-who-you-are kind of woman.”
Like a lot of Taschen’s best releases, this one’s a bit of a hedonistic object in itself. Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott isn’t just a coffee-table book, it’s 300 photos of desire. It comes in a clamshell box the size of a vinyl case and feels like it should come with gloves and a warning. Part monograph, part soft-core devotional.
“Our photography has a dream-like sense: how can we portray dark dreams in a beautiful way, in beautiful packaging?”
Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott
Dubbed as among the best in the business by the likes of Chanel Iman, they are as esteemed critically as they are by their own subjects, which is highly refreshing in the fashion industry. This comes from their unique approach of letting their stars really be front and centre of the image and the process itself. The collaborative results are self-evident, like a painter and the brush.
Curated and written by Charlotte Cotton, the latest Taschen publication, Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, captures some of their finest work to date, all in one place. With over 300 uniquely stirring images, it is one of the finest erotic fashion photography collections you will find.
There’s a reason why nearly every icon of the past two decades – from Björk to Beyoncé to Bowie – has stood in front of their lens. Mert and Marcus don’t just take pictures. They create scenes, characters, moods. And in an industry that can sometimes feel sterile and cynical, their images still feel alive. Lusty, operatic, and impossibly cool.
You might not be able to afford the dresses, but at least you can own the book.
You can find out more and pick up a copy of your own by clicking here.
The erotic photography of Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott:
