Mert Alas

Style

Madonna Wears a Grill, Eye-Patch, Marie Antoinette Wig and No Pants to Celebrate 55th Birthday

Madonna turned 55 last week and she celebrated by throwing an insanely over-the-top French Revolution-themed bash in the South of France. The Queen of Pop went as the Queen of France, Marie Antoinette, naturally. Of course, Madonna's take on Marie Antoinette's fashion was slightly riskier than anything even the Dauphine herself would have dared to wear. And she let them--hundreds of party goers including Givenchy designer Riccardo Tisci, photographer Mert Alas, and all-grown-up daughter Lola--eat lots of cake (a custom confection cooked up by La Duree). And all of it was caught on Instagram. Take a look.

Business

Minnie Mouse Gets the Love Magazine Treatment

One of the things we've always loved about Love has been its ability to balance a playful, not-so-serious attitude towards fashion with a reverence for the industry's designers and models--and lots of tech savvy. This is exemplified by the British glossy's new fifth anniversary issue, which pays homage to--who else--Minnie Mouse, with a little help from Georgia Jagger, Cara Delevingne and Edie Campbell wearing custom Minnie ears done by Gucci, Miu Miu, Prada and Louis Vuitton.

Style

Fashionista Flashcards: Everything You Need to Know About Today's Top Fashion Photographers

In the world of fashion there is a small yet consistent collection of photographers who get the majority of work for major publications and brands. In fact, many of them seem to have quite the monopoly on the fashion world. Legends like Richard Avedon and Irving Penn continued to work prolifically up until the time they passed away, and that seems to be what is so great about being behind the camera instead of in front of it. Top photographers are given the chance to work for years in an industry where most figures are in one day and out the next. But how do we differentiate one top photographer from another? We'll show you what to look for from visual style, what publications they regularly appear in, as well as recent ongoing collaborations with brands and models of some of the top working fashion photographers of today. Click through to get started!

Business

Kristen Stewart Like You've Never Seen Her Before in W's September Issue

Kristen Stewart smolders, cat-eyed and '60s style, on the cover of W's September issue, photographed by Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott and styled by Edward Enninful. Inside, Stewart, who normally looks a bit scowl-ly and tomboyish, is pure smoky sexy '60s glamor wearing Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, and Junya Watanabe. Check out the pix and highlights from Stewart's interview with Lynn Hirschberg in which she talks about how her big break involved singing a song about a dreidl, says she's still insecure about her "tomboy" quality, and opens up about saying goodbye to Bella Swan.

Beauty

Get Ready to Swoon: Tom Ford Launches Full Color Beauty Line and Two New Fragrances

We hyperventilated just a little bit when we saw the lead beauty story in WWD this morning. Tom Ford, arbiter of all things crave-worthy, is launching a full color cosmetics collection, available this September. It is a whopping 132-piece collection and also includes skin care. Ford told WWD that he’d wanted to do a color collection since his days at Gucci, but that people were not “convinced that I had a voice in color until the lipsticks started selling out again and again.” (That would be his 12-piece Private Blend Lip Color Collection, now legendary.)

Style

Hakaan Fall 2011: Out on the Town

Referencing shades of Givenchy and vintage Tom Ford, the Turkish designer Hakaan Yildirim turned out a collection of modernized Studio 54 fare that would be a hit with former Beatrice Inn attendees and Le Baron enthusiasts alike. The relatively new designer is best known for his love of come-hither structured sexiness and his elite fashion friends--namely Carine Roitfeld (she put him on the map three seasons back) and his creative director Mert Alas (of the photog duo Mert & Marcus). Although Carine was not in attendance last night, there were plenty of A-list catwalkers to make up for her absence. Mariacarla Boscono opened the show--a progression of smoldering pieces in black, white, gray, red, and nude. Standout looks included silk tuxedo jackets (a key item for fall), precisely tailored pants, and a gown worn by Daphne Groeneveld that looked like the modern-day interpretation Madame X's gown in John Singer Sargent’s famous portrait (but with more side boob).