mert alas

>> Turkish Designer Hakaan Yildirim Takes Home 2010 ANDAM Prize —After one London Fashion Week show, Hakaan is moving into the big leagues, scoring ANDAM's €220,000 prize (approx. $270,000, up €60,000 from last year's prize) for 2010. It doesn't hurt that Hakaan has friend and collaborator Mert Alas in his corner: Carine Roitfeld, who headed up this year's ANDAM jury, came to London specifically for Hakaan's show on the advice of Alas. Alas likely also had something to do with the show's all-star cast of Lara Stone, Natalia Vodianova, Mariacarla Boscono, Natasha Poly, and Anja Rubik. Along with the upgraded ANDAM prize money, a new stipulation: Hakaan must not only show in Paris, but open a French company, as well. [Style File, Fashion Editor at Large]

>> Busty Model Ashley Smith Making Waves —With the success of Lara Stone and the current taste for more zaftig shapes, it was only a matter of time before more bustier-than-usual models flooded the scene.  Enter Texan Ashley Smith, who has Lara's gap teeth and the usual model measurements — 5'8.5" height, 24-inch waist, 34-inch hips, dress size 2 — with one notable exception: her 32D bust size. She shot with Terry Richardson back in February, and it's rumored that Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott are "in love with her." [Fashin, Fashin]

>> Alessandra Ambrosio and Adriana Lima for Loewe Fall 2010 Campaign? Plus, A Couple of New Faces for Miu Miu —Both Loewe and Miu Miu are reportedly going with multi-girl casts for their Fall 2010 campaigns: the former is said to have scored at least two Victoria's Secret faces — Adriana Lima and Alessandra Ambrosio — and the latter will feature Ginta Lapina and Daphne Groenveld shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott — in addition to a rumored, but unnamed, additional model or two. [@AngelAlessandra, TFS, TFS, TFUC, TFS]

>> Fall 2010 campaign season is well under way — and although not all casts have been finalized, as is the case over at Miu Miu, many have, causing an influx of rumors and confirmations.  On Wednesday, Karen Elson joined Christy Turlington and Natalia Vodianova on the Fall 2010 Louis Vuitton campaign set in New York, where Steven Meisel photographed and Karl Templer styled. Meisel also shot the Lanvin campaign this week in New York, with Alber Elbaz overseeing another trio: Anja Rubik, Magdelena Frackowiak and Mariacarla Boscono.

Givenchy, too, is rumored to be going with a trio of female models — Ming Xi, Joan Smalls, and Mariacarla Boscono — joined by a few male models in front of Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott's lens. But the trio trend breaks there — word going around is that Meisel captured 12 girls for Balenciaga, including Finnish newcomer Kirsi Pyrhonen, and Roberto Cavalli is going solo with Gisele Bundchen shot by Mert and Marcus.

>> Lara Stone, who just recently got engaged to British comedian David Walliams, covers the March 2010 issue of Interview (photographed by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott); inside, she chats with Marc Jacobs — who she recently worked with on the Spring 2010 Louis Vuitton campaign — about the upcoming wedding, her stint in rehab, and all the attention on her body.

She tells Jacobs of fiance Walliams: "He's wonderful. He's amazing. He makes me laugh. He's a proper gentleman. He's a bit mean but in a good way. I'm happy."  The engagement was just announced at the end of last month, and Stone says she hasn't really started to make wedding plans "because I haven't been home at all since we got engaged."  She does, however, know what she'll be wearing: "I asked Riccardo [Tisci] to make my dress."

"I used to love slapping people in the face when I was drunk" »

>> Rose Cordero's Solo March 2010 Vogue Paris Cover Marks First for Black Model Since 2002 —Rose Cordero was photographed by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott for Vogue Paris's March 2010 cover, marking her first Vogue cover and the first Vogue Paris cover featuring solely a black model since Liya Kebede's in May 2002. (Noemie Lenoir had a solo cover for the magazine's June/July 2008 issue, but she shared the honors with Laetitia Casta). [Models.com]

>> More LOVE Covers: Daria Werbowy and Kristen McMenamy —The multiple cover madness isn't stopping at LOVE — we've already seen Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott's shots of Janeil Williams and Lara Stone, now add our exclusive look at Daria Werbowy, plus Kristen McMenamy, to the bunch.  LOVE is staying mum on how many covers in total they have up their sleeves, but with six weekdays left before the magazine hits stands Feb. 8 — and they've been releasing at least one cover a day for the past three days — it's likely they have a good few more up their sleeves. [LOVE]

>> LOVE Covers Popping Up — Katie Grand loves her multiple covers, and with the third issue of LOVE debuting just over a week away, cover images have started to appear.  Models.com confirmed that the Janeil Williams image below is a cover, and LOVE posted a similar image — also by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott — of Lara Stone on their blog today, which is likely a cover as well. LOVE is on stands Feb. 8, Dasha Zhukova's much-awaited second issue of POP is out in two weeks. [Models.com, LOVE, @thepop]