MERDE X
THALITA FARIE
MERDE's tenth print issue lives inside the theme of "DOUBLE" — the space where opposites meet, where high and low, serious and playful, sincerity and satire all sit comfortably in the same book you can hold in your hands.
The cover travels to São Paulo with Thalita Farie, shot by Rogger Cordeiro, in a candid conversation about mental health and an image-driven industry that too often pressures people to keep quiet. From there, the issue opens into a string of honest conversations and global features including Sunshine Benzi, Alioune Badara Fall, Dorque World, Maïcee, Michael McGregor, Jazelle aka @uglyworldwide, and more.
Longtime collaborators return throughout, including London-based photographer Tom Brannigan and Paris-based artist Alona Sobolevska (@iksoxo), alongside brand moments with off script ny, Jeffrey Campbell and Boy London America.
The content still holds the core of MERDE humor, with a 'hairy fruit' quiz, quippy interviews, short essays and multi-media imagery that remind you not to take any of it too seriously.
Ten issues in, MERDE still knows how to hold both: the weight and the wit, the polish and the mess, the beautiful and the absurd.
MERDE X: DOUBLE
The concept started with a cut-out. Thalita was shot first in studio in São Paulo, clean, sculptural, graphic enough to be lifted off the page. Those images became her double: life-size cardboard cut-outs carried to Rio and shot again, out in the world. Propped on staircases, wedged into alleyways, planted beside its own original on the beach.
A double is never a neutral. It’s a stand-in and a rival, a flattery and a threat. It makes you do a double take, to take a look twice and decide which version you believe, or prefer. That’s the territory this story moves through: the doubling of a woman into image and body.
PHOTOGRAPHY & POST-PRODUCTION
Director of Photography: João Kirk @joao_kirk
Light Designer: Calebe Fernandes @calebe.fernandes
Photography Assistants: Felippe Costa @felippescosta Carine Fel @carinefel
Retouch: Daniel Pohl @danielopohl
Video Director: Jader Chahine @jaderchahine
Journalist: Larissa Barreto Gonçalves @larissabarretog
STYLING
Styling Assistants: Luara Maria @luarammaria Isa Corazza @isa.corazza Victor Brandolin @victorbrandolin
Wardrobe Dresser: Mazaestyllo @_mazzastillo
PRODUCTION
Brazilian Production: ARUÁ Projects @aruaprojects
Executive Producer: Claudia Steinert @clausteinert
Project Manager: Alessa Oliveira @alessaoliveira42
Communications Coordinator: Giovanna Moore @gioferrarimoore
SET OPERATIONS & LOGISTICS
Set Manager: Renan Ramos @renan_r.33
Prop Master: Josenildo Pereira
Security: Theo
Drivers: Joaquim Gonçalves, Alan Sebastian
PARTNERS:
-
A creative advertorial story featuring Alona Sobolevska @iksoxo, shot in Paris at KIT STUDIO. See it in print.
-
Tom Brannigan shot epically beautiful still-life imagery of Jeffrey Campbell shoes in his London studio. See it in print.
-
We co-created the premiere campaign for the next gen of oud fragrance brand, off script new york. See it in print.
They told us to clean it up, we made it worse.
MERDE X: double digits, double the mess you didn't know you needed.
Hold it in your hands SEPTEMBER 8TH.
EDITORIAL STORIES
EMERGING DESIGNERS
ART/EVENTS
BEAUTY
Agency M Production - Adjacent to MERDE Magazine
A full-scope creative production studio supporting brands and artists from concept to realization. Based in the U.S. and Europe, we bring global perspective and local insight to every project, crafting instinctive, detail-driven visuals that linger beyond a scroll. We specialize in ad partnerships, editorial activations, and talent collaborations to create culturally tuned, high-impact work.