Knightley discusses her two new films with David Cronenberg, who recently directed the 27-year-old in last year’s A Dangerous Method. First there’s June’s Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, co-starring fellow fashion plate Steve Carell, and an adaptation of Anna Karenina, in which she plays Tolstoy’s legendary literary heroine — out just in time for awards season in December.

Seriously, just throw that girl in a period piece and watch the Oscars fly.

Photos: Interview

Photos: Vogue.com

“Carine Roitfed. She has such great style.  I would love to raid her closet, for her shoes. We have the same size shoe and we used to share shoes.” I ask her if there are any shoes in particular she would snatch. “All of them.” Well-played, Lara Stone. Well-played.

Stone, the official fashion ambassador for Mercedes-Benz, is whisked away in a tornado of Prager’s creation as part of the automaker’s “Icons of Style” campaign, featuring the SL Roadster. Inspired by The Wizard of Oz, Mary Poppins, Vertigo and a bit of the Brothers Grimm, Prager tells a modern day fairytale with Stone as the beautiful blonde “with dark, suspicious undertones,” to borrow the photographer’s words. To achieve the “I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore” vibe, the super was strapped into a harness and flown around the air — a process she actually enjoyed.

“My favorite part of working with Alex was all of her crazy ideas!” Stone says. “Hanging in a harness was so much fun and a great change from just standing around [posing].” Of course, at this point in her career, Lara Stone is no stranger to uncomfortable situations. When I ask her what was one of her favorite shoots, she immediately mentions her latest campaign for Calvin Klein, shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott.

“The rocks were so sharp! I love that campaign, all those bright, different color jeans, but laying on the rocks was very uncomfortable,” she says with a laugh. “They were sharp and it was hot with big waves crashing over us. Very scary! When I saw the final shots though, it was totally worth it. I always love working with them [Mert and Marcus].”

Wondering what, if any, of her plans were outside of modeling, Lara responds simply, “I just got a puppy and I want to hang out with him. His name is Bert and he’s a boarder terrier.” I’ve never been much for dogs, though lately I’ve been contemplating getting one, so I took this opportunity to do a little research. “What size is he?” I ask. “Oh, you know…dog-sized.” She then  attempts to approximate Bert with her  arms, and he seems a little big for my taste.

“We have sort of an office dog,” I venture. In truth, we have like five office dogs —  one of them’s wandering around now as I write this. But I single out the pug, who makes the most regular appearances in the FashionIndie office. “Oh, they’re so cute!” she exclaims and we discuss the general cuteness of the tiny little monsters and their giant bug eyes. Then I mention that his name is Napoleon. “Does he have the complex?” she asks, not missing a beat.

Meanwhile, I wish I  had brought along a rimshot if I had known Lara Stone would be serving shtick.

Gisele and Ryan Barrett were shot by the imitable Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott and styled by Joe McKenna and David Bradshaw dramatically entering a pool somewhere in the California desert.

Much like La Bündchen, I know that if and whenever I go for a swim, there’s always a Lucite platform involved. [WWD]

Mert and Marcus shot this latest in the Versace x H&M fall campaign. Still a full month away, it’s not too early to say that this diffusion line might be the best thing that ever happened to anyone ever. And that’s putting it lightly. [Design Scene]

Derek Lam, Tod’s creative director, had kind words to say about the actress: ”What makes this collaboration with Anne so perfect is that not only is she a young actress with accomplished roles to her credit, she is also one to watch for her creative choices. She generates excitement based on the quality of her work, modern beauty and intelligence.” Clearly someone didn’t see Love and Other Drugs…nor should he.

The Signature Collection is geared towards the younger and “more fashion-forward” and is inspired by Andy Warhol and French fashion photog Guy Bourdin. The bags come in ”strong, decisive tones” such as deep red, black, electric blue, fuchsia , lavender, beige and cream. I don’t know when beige became a strong and/or decisive tone, but I digress.

Hathaway, for her part, chimed in with this about the collection: ”The designs are classic and the materials are of the highest quality. As a result, they don’t grow older, they only grow better just like a woman.”  [Telegraph]

Are you there vodka? It’s me, anticipation. Hathaway is interviewed by bawdy bitch-and-a-half Chelsea Handler so I’ll be waiting with breath more bated than usual for my issue to turn up at my door. And with Karl Templer handling the styling duties, this should be one of the highlights of the September issue season.

Meanwhile, if you direct your attention to the lower left hand corner you’ll notice that Carine Roitfeld was interviewed by Karl Lagerfeld. No big deal, except perhaps being the best thing ever. But again, no big deal. [Design Scene]

- Speaking of LOVE’s 245 (I’m rounding) covers, here’s eight of them. [Models.com]

- Shield your eyes, children, lest you want your illusions shattered. Karl Lagerfeld actually has eyes behind those sunglasses and not Chanel doorknockers like I always hoped/expected. [Fashionologie]

- Demi Moore‘s the new surgically-enhanced face of Ann Taylor. [Style.com]

- My own personal hell…inside Vogue‘s shoe closet, where I’m sure there is nothing in a size 13 womens. Le sigh. [Styleite]

- Stills from Madonna‘s historical romantic drama, W.E. have leaked and they look like a mix of “Vogue,” “Take A Bow” and Evita. So clearly I’m on board. [Fashionista]

Check out the glamorous final product of her editorial shoot below:

The campaign was shot by the hardest working M’s in the business, Mert and Marcus in a topiary garden at a private Oxfordshire home. I think I just got all kinds of classy just from writing that.

While the ad will make its way to print in the September issues of Interview,Vogue (US and UK) and Harper’s Bazaar, McCartney wants to draw you to her new sassed up site for a sneak peek. There you’ll also find a slew of special functions for customers such as “Private Wardrobing” — again, classy — and a “Reserve in Store” option for customers too impatient to wait for a delivery.

The new Stella iPad app features a “behind-the-scenes” of her Team GB ad campaign, backstage footage from her fall 2011 show in Paris, a preview of the 2012 resort collection and a “making of” video of the dresses the designer created for the Met Gala.

Sounds like a hoot and a half, but I think I’ll skip that “making of” video unless I want to fall asleep. [WWD]

Tilda givin’ a little twist in Another by Craig McDean.

1. Tilda Swinton

One of the most striking women in film, on the red carpet and in fashion spreads, look no further for Swinton’s editorial excellence than this month’s W.

Masculin/feminin by Tim Walker.

Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott shot Swanepoel in London on the Thames along with Ford favorite and front-runner for most beautiful boy in all the world – Jon Kortajarena.

Mert and Marcus, no strangers to working with Ford, recently shot his fall beauty campaign with one Ms. Lara Stone. The designer, however, has opted to keep his hands — and his lingering stare — to himself for these series of images. [WWD]

Photo: Fashion Gone Rogue

- Kate‘s epic wedding guest list also includes Daphne Guinness, Vivienne Westwood, Jude Law, Jade Jagger and reportedly, John Galliano. [Styleite]

- Blogger Rachel Kane of  WTForever21 might have to change the name of her blog to WTorever21 because she clearly doesn’t give an F. [Fashionista]

- Oscar nominee Hailee Steinfeld is precociously stunning in Miu Miu‘s new Fall 2011 campaign, shot by Bruce Weber. [Fashion Gone Rogue]

- Meanwhile, Raquel Zimmermann is sleekness defined for YSL by Inez and Vinoodh. [Models.com]

- The Huffington Post assembled 21 of Spring 2012 Men’s Fashion Week‘s “zaniest” looks. Some are actually zany, some are pretty fierce and some just need to stop pretending. [HuffPo]

- Jennifer Lopez will be on HSN this weekend, and while her team of handlers explain what an HSN is, J.Lo found her light and showed some gam for new fragrance Love & Light‘s ad campaign. [People]

Kate hunches, emotes and bares a nipple or two (this is still Vogue Paris after all) in Dior Haute Couture, Armani Privé, Givenchy Haute Couture, Atelier Versace, Elie Saab Haute Couture and Valentino Haute Couture.

There’s nothing to get fashion pulses racing like a couple hundred thousand dollars in clothing on one of the greatest posers to ever stare meaningfully at nothing at all.

@rihanna: My bad ci, did I 4get to tip u? #howrudeofme

[@LesFabian: Ouch. #bitch]

@rihanna: U gangsta huh? Haaa

@ciara: Trust me Rihanna you don’t want to see me on or off the stage.

@rihanna: Good luck with bookin that stage u speak of

[@LesFabian: Oh snap! #BURN]

@ciara: pure comedy…

[@LesFabian: #nocomeback]

@rihanna: Ciara baby, I love u girl! U hurt my feelings real bad on TV! I’m heartbroken! That’s y I retaliated this way! So sorry!

[@LesFabian: How...sweet... #lyingherfaceoff]

@ciara: Rhi, u know its always been love since day 1! Doing shows and everything. You threw me off in that party! Apology accepted. Let’s chat in person.

[@LesFabian: Translation: Bitch, wait til I twist my fingers through that troll doll hair. #illcutabitch]

Things have calmed down dramatically since then, but whenever divas duel it out in the public arena, there is an inevitable choosing of sides and bitter argument over who’s better, blah, blah blah.

Well, since I live for these moments, I’ve decided the only logical way to determine who is the baddest bitch on the block (clearly not including Beyoncé who could blink and take out both of them) is to compare both RiRi’s and CiCi’s editorials from European Vogues…naturally.

Rihanna covered Vogue Italia‘s special couture supplement in 2009, shot by the incredible Steven Klein and styled by Patti Wilson:

Then last year, Givenchy creative director Riccardo Tisci styled Ciara for a Vogue Paris shoot with the dynamic duo of Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott.

For me, the answer is clear. Ciara’s editorial easily trumps Rihanna’s, achieving a poetic and sensual beauty that’s more effective than the hard, technical sexuality of the Klein shoot. Which is not to say that both spreads aren’t great, but Ciara possesses a grace and classic beauty that makes her actually look like a model and not just a moonlighting popstar in it for some free couture.

Plus, she totally gets extra points because Riccardo said this about her:

“Ciara is like a black Betty Page. A very refined hip hop queen. Although she is American, she has a sort of European class, a Parisian chic.”

Musing for Givenchy beats out openly stealing from David LaChappelle any day of the week.

The cover, sure to be a collector’s item, is a beautiful and subtle cap on one of fashion’s most controversial and luminous careers. Instead of going with a big name super, Roitfeld chose 29-year-old (ancient by model standards) Dutch model Saskia, explaining to Style.com:

“I love risk…Now I found a new girl called Saskia. She has short hair, no one knows her, and this is going to be my last cover.”

Givenchy‘s creative director Ricardo Tisci introduced Roitfeld to Saskia. Tisci is also responsible for Lara Stone‘s stellar rise to supermodeldom and Saskia is poised to follow in her stilettoed steps.

“Look what happened to Lara Stone. She wanted to stop being a model. She had no success at all. And my friend Riccardo Tisci said to me, ‘Oh, you have to look at that girl, she’s amazing.’ And I believed him and I booked her, and after that I booked her for each issue. She was the cover of my special anniversary issue, the cover of the February issue. I gave her eight or nine covers, and now she’s one of the biggest stars. It’s very exciting to make someone a star, and it was something you could do with French Vogue .”

Carine Roitfeld leaves Vogue Paris on a great and  positive note, creating great fashion karma. I’m waiting with bated breath for what else this historic issue has in store.

Photo: The Fashion Spot

Photo: NY Mag

The ads were shot by lens duo Mert Alas and Marcus Piggot in a greenhouse, a “lush, traditional setting,” claims Talbots Chief Creative Officer Michael Smaldone.

Photo: People StyleWatch

Smaldone says they picked Julianne for the spring campaign because she “exemplifies everything we want as the face of the brand. She’s a very active, beautiful, soulful woman.”

But don’t expect Moore to cradle a baby lion any time soon, Talbots is still very much dedicated to tradition. Smaldone explains:

“We want to hold on to the classic pieces, but make them relevant to a woman today. We’re not trendy, but our clothes are current and modern.”

Photo: Huffington Post

I know that I support anything Julianne Moore does, blindly, but I’m not their target demographic…sadly. But after these ads, will you — dear readers —think of Talbots any differently, if you thought of them at all?

Link Love: People StyleWatch

Katie Grand styled the epicene pair for the cover, which will hit newsstands on February 7th. Bieber’s involvement is still up in the air but should he not be sandwiched between a Moss and a T place, I at least hope for some fishnets and a geisha lip.

Sidebar: Does anyone else find it weird/creepy/totes awesome that 16-year-old Justin Bieber is going to be on the cover of LOVE‘s Androgyny issue? With the tagline “This Is Hard Core”?

I’ll just take this as a sign that he’s finally accepted the fact that he looks like 2/3 of all lesbians.

Photo: MDC

For the Spring 2011 campaign the supermodel was captured by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott in two different all-white suited outfits in which she truly looks glorious.

In the past Lara Stone was often styled in a little bit rugged or naive way, which matches her look quite well – especially due to the little gap between her teeth, which we love so much about her… But not so in this campaign, where she takes the role of a true classical beauty.

The Calvin Klein brand as well as her beautiful self couldn’t have come together in any better or more surprising way! What a great match!

PHOTOGRAPHY: MERT ALAS & MARCUS PIGGOTT

STYLING: CARINE ROITFELD

MODEL: ROSE CORDERO

SPOT AT THE FASHION SPOT

Kansas-born Lindsay Wixson opened Prada’s Spring show and closed Miu Miu’s, and now she’s the new face of Miu Miu Spring campaign.  Mert and Marcus shot the campaign in London.LINK LOVE: Style File

Miu Miu Spring/Summer 2010 Campaign

Photography:  Mert Alas & Marcus Piggot

Model:  Lindsay Wixson

While I do love the underwear clad adventures of the Beckhams, I can’t fight the fact that in a fight for sexual supremacy, Megan Fox would kick both the stick thin Posh and the primly dyed David asses. This bitch is bightin!!! More photos from the steamy shoot after the jump.

The first advertising campaigns featuring Megan Fox, for both Emporio Armani Underwear and Armani Jeans, were shot on location in Los Angeles by renowned fashion photographers Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, and will roll out starting from February around the world in fashion and lifestyle magazines and on signature billboards in major cities such as New York, Los Angeles, London, Milan, Rome, Paris and Tokyo.

Giorgio Armani said, “Megan is young and sexy and has a lot of spirit. Emporio Armani Underwear and Armani Jeans are all about a youthful attitude making her the perfect choice for the collections.”

More images are available starting from today exclusively to Emporio Armani fans on our official Facebook page ARMANI.

Style: "AU_BW2"

Style: "AU_BW2"

Style: "AU_BW2"

Gucci hired once again famed photographers Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott to shoot Natasha Poly and Ryan Kennedy for their Spring Summer 2010 ads.LINK LOVE: DesignScene

Dree Hemingway has landed the Spring 2010 campaign for Valentino, shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott.

LINK LOVE: Modelinia

Model Toni Garrn posed for Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott in a new makeup campaign. The ads are for Shiseido Cle de Peau, which is soon to release their upcoming fall ’09 look.

LINKAGE: Design Scene

Oh, you know, just hanging out on a pile of rope in our underwear, NBD.

Style: "ARMANI_UNDER_AS_SHOT"

Style: "ARMANI_UNDER_AS_SHOT"

Shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, DSquared2 designers Dean and Dan Caten were originally supposed to appear in the series of ads, but I don’t think anyone will complain about the replacements! 

GALLERY: AD-DICT: Lara Stone for DSquared2 Fall 2009 Campaign

Thanks Fashionologie!

The powerful duo, Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott, have mastered the fashion photography world with strong use of color and set design.

For more info on Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott click here

GALLERY: Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott photos

Kate Moss landed another campaign for Longchamp, and is shot along with Daria Werbowy by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott.  Not really sure what’s going on with the soldiers, but the girls look ultra-glamorous with their red lips and super-sleek clothing. 

SOURCE: Catwalk Queen

Raquel Zimmerman bleached her hair, this beach shoot looks to be very interesting.  I’m really confused about what is going on around her ears, and it seems odd to have such a dirty looking beach, complete with seagulls, for a high fashion photo shoot.  But hey, I’m not Mert Alas or Marcus Piggott, and I’m sure the shoot with be gorgeous in next month’s Vogue Japan.  That dress is awesome.

SOURCE: Models.com

To shop Kate’s dress in the above ad, click here.

LINKAGE: Red Carpet Fashion

GALLERY: Vintage W Spread

LINKAGE: Wicked Halo

I love a good oxymoron, especially when it comes to fashion. That’s why I am totally digging the newest ad campaign for Iceberg. Models Steve Gold and Amber Valletta look steaming hot, which is quite the contrary of the label’s name. Even though the only background you can see is the sky, I imagine them standing on very tall sand dunes whilst sweating their balls off. Photographers Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott did a great job of tying the garments to a story.

GALLERY: Iceberg S/S 09 Ad Campaign Shot by Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott

Thanks to Trendhunter for the photos.

A couple months ago we told you about Miu Miu tapping Katie Holmes for Spring 2009.

Vogue UK has just unveiled one shot from the campaign.

Shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, Katie wears a Miuccia Prada-designed dress. The shoot was reportedly inspired by Fellini films and is intended to radiate “mystery and theatricality.”

I’ve always thought Katie photographed well. And while I dislike the short hair on her, the true-to-Miu Miu lighting and styling suit her well.

Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott snapped Victoria Beckham for Emporio Armani underwear. The black and white photos were shot in LA.

And I think we all remember that husband David posed for the brand last year.

Images from Catwalk Queen.

Rumor has it Madonna is going to be the next face of Louis Vuitton. In fact, people are saying the ads have already been shot! Gracing the face of the Spring 2009 campaign, Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott have captured Madonna in top designs. Though she’s never been a part of a Louis Vuitton campaign, she certainly has some experience with Chanel, Dior, and Dolce and Gabbana. Wonder how they’ll turn out!

Thanks NYmag!