The M/M (Paris) Alphabet

Who: Mathias Augustyniak and Michael Amzalag – the two Ms behind the masterful art and design partnership M/M (Paris) – in conjunction with their similarly talented friends and frequent creative collaborators, Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, put their distinctive spin on an alphabetic typeface, originally published in V magazine in 2001.

What: 26 models were selected, each to represent a letter in the M/M (Paris) “A – Z of beauty": D for Sophie Dahl, for instance. They were then beautifully captured by Inez and Vindooh in an interesting variation of poses and expressions – from sleek to smoldering – and the final prints were handed over to the Ms for the design and alphabetisation process. Typical of their hands-on, cut-and-paste approach to projects, M/M (Paris) deftly cut away at the photographs with scissors to create the required letter format, often using the existing lines and shadows within the photograph as a basis for the shape. The resulting female typography is both clever and captivating – a striking homage to the feminine form (even where it lacks a face).

"M/M (Paris) are fascinated by the alphabet and its capacity to represent and encompass languages through abstract entities”

Why: M/M (Paris) are fascinated by the alphabet and its “capacity to represent and encompass languages through abstract entities”. They have designed over 50 different typefaces thus far including a follow-up project to The Alphabet, Alphamen, using male models instead of female (also photographed by Inez and Vindooh), and the creation of 26 ornamented initials for Prada – the Pradalphabet – in 2010. Now ten years after its creation, The Alphabet is available for the first time as 26 120x176cm silkscreen posters, on sale on the company's website.

The Alphabet posters are available at the M/M (Paris) online shop now.

Suggested Reading: Read about M/M (Paris)'s S/S12 invite for Givenchy here.

Text by Daisy Woodward