Mert and Marcus: Decoding the fashion image | CNN

Decoding the fashion image with Mert & Marcus

07:44 - Source: CNN

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Editor’s Note: This video is a segment from the CNN Style show.

CNN —

With a list of clients and collaborators that reads like a who’s who of fashion, Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott are two of the most in-demand photographers working today.

Known for their hyper-saturated, digitally manipulated images, the duo – who go by simply Mert and Marcus – have shot high-profile editorials for Vogue, W and Interview, and collaborated with the likes of Givenchy, Gucci and Calvin Klein on provocative ad campaigns.

Their work, according to the photographers, is fantastical and complex, incorporating elements of strength, beauty, darkness and vulnerability to a glamorous effect.

Read: Chen Man is changing how the world sees China

“It represents our way of seeing fantasy now, or our way of seeing the dark side, our way of seeing glamour, our way of seeing youth,” Alas told CNN Style host Derek Blasberg.

Kate Moss, a friend and frequent subject, speaks only effusively of the photographers. Their relationship spans decades, and hit an apex in 2013, when Mert and Marcus photographed her for Playboy’s 60th anniversary issue.

“I trust them. I would never say ‘I don’t want to do that,’” Moss said. “Lots of people have their idea of what a girl is, whereas when I work with them, it kind of is more playing.”