M/M Paris
| Company type | Creative duo |
|---|---|
| Industry | Art and design |
| Founded | 1992 |
| Founder | Mathias Augustyniak, Michael Amzalag |
| Headquarters | Paris , France |
| Products | Art direction, graphic design, creative consulting |
M/M (Paris) is a creative duo in art and design, established in 1992 by Mathias Augustyniak (born 1967) and Michael Amzalag (born 1968). Operating out of Paris, M/M has gained acclaim for their art direction and partnerships spanning music (Björk, Madonna, Kanye West), fashion (Jonathan Anderson, Yohji Yamamoto, Calvin Klein), editorial publications (Vogue Paris, Purple Fashion), and contemporary art collaborations (Pierre Huyghe, Philippe Parreno).
Biography
The partnership between Augustyniak and Amzalag began when they crossed paths at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Arts Decoratifs in Paris in 1988. Amzalag departed from the school in 1990 to take on the role of art director at Les Inrockuptibles, while Augustyniak completed his studies at the Royal College of Art in London by 1991. Opting against traditional agency employment, they launched M/M (Paris) in 1992.
Their early work concentrated on music-related design, including album covers, before quickly broadening into fashion and contemporary art sectors. Their initial significant fashion commission was the 1993 launch of Yohji Yamamoto's Y's line, followed by visual campaigns for Jil Sander and graphic work for Martine Sitbon. A pivotal collaboration started in 1995 with photographers Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin, resulting in campaigns for Thierry Mugler, Yohji Yamamoto, Balenciaga, Givenchy, Calvin Klein, as well as Björk’s album artwork and videos. Their distinctive approach frequently incorporates altered or hand-rendered photography to disclose concealed visual narratives.
Between 2001 and 2003, M/M held roles as art directors and creative consultants for French Vogue during Carine Roitfeld’s tenure. From 1997 through 2001, they served as visiting lecturers at École cantonale d'art de Lausanne (ECAL), leading workshops focused on fashion and identity.
In the early 2000s, M/M engaged with artists Pierre Huyghe and Philippe Parreno on projects including "No Ghost Just A Shell" and contributed to interior designs such as Paris’s Café Etienne Marcel. In 2004, they crafted set designs for the baroque opera Antigona, which inspired the short film Antigone Under Hypnosis. Their groundbreaking work was recognized with the Traetta Prize in 2017.
Since 2006, M/M has acted as creative consultants for Purple Fashion, overseeing its visual rebranding. Between 2007 and 2009, they were creative directors of the men’s fashion title Arena Homme +. Their inaugural museum retrospective, titled Vision Tenace, was hosted at the Centre Pompidou in 2008.
Following Fabien Baron’s exit, M/M were appointed creative directors of Interview Magazine in January 2009 but ended their tenure after five months due to financial disputes with Brant Publications.
In 2009, Taschen released a comprehensive volume featuring their design interpretations of Stanley Kubrick's Napoleon: The Greatest Movie Never Made, a collector’s edition exploring Kubrick’s unfinished film research.
In 2010, M/M introduced "M/MINK," an eau-de-parfum created in partnership with Swedish brand Byredo, inspired by the aroma of Asian ink integral to their artistic process.
Their monograph, M to M of M/M (Paris), was published by Thames & Hudson in 2012 and includes a foreword by Hans-Ulrich Obrist.
In April 2025, M/M assumed the role of creative directors for Harper's Bazaar Italia, starting from the September 2025 edition.
Exhibitions
Since 1996, M/M has broadened their artistic scope by showcasing their work in numerous exhibitions, including group presentations at prestigious venues such as the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, and the Centre Pompidou in Paris. Notable solo exhibitions include:
- 1996: M/M, une exposition; Le Consortium, Dijon
- 1999: M/M; Y-1, Stockholm
- 2003: M/M goes to Tokyo; Rocket Gallery, Tokyo
- 2003: Icônes, Indices, Symboles; Festival de Chaumont, Chapelle des Jesuites, Chaumont
- 2003: Nine Posters and a Wallpaper; Le Rectangle, Lyon
- 2004: Antigone en Yvelines; cneai, Chatou
- 2004: Antigone in Asia; Rocket Gallery, Tokyo
- 2004: Antigula; Ursula Blicke Foundation, Kraichtal
- 2005: Zugabe!; Kunstverein, Frankfurt
- 2005: Utopia of Flows; Air de Paris/Art Positions, Art Basel Miami Beach
- 2006: Haunch of Venison/Venison of Haunch; Haunch of Venison, London
- 2006: Antigone Under Hypnosis, Paris Calling, V&A, London
- 2008: The Theatre Posters; Ginza Graphic Gallery, Tokyo
- 2008: L’Île au Trésor, Galerie Air de Paris, Paris
- 2008: Just Like An Ant Walking On The Edge Of The Visible; Drawing Center, New York
- 2008: Vision tenace, Centre Pompidou, Paris
- 2009: Un mot d'amour dans une chambre d'écho, Akbank Sanat, Istanbul
- 2011: Un grand serpent chromé, Les Silos, Chaumont
- 2012: Carpetalogue, Gallery Libby Sellers, London
- 2021: From one M/Museum to another M/M, Musée des Arts Décoratifs Musée d'Orsay, Paris
- 2021: M/Made in Shanghai M/M, Power Station of Art, Shanghai
- 2022: M/Meditation In Copenhagen, LG Strand, Copenhagen
- 2023: The 1001 designs of the ABCD'ORSAY: 26 drawings by MATHIAS AUGUSTYNIAK, Musée d'Orsay, Paris
Style
M/M's creative methodology merges the raw energy of post-punk visuals with the exactitude characteristic of Swiss graphic design and the emotive qualities found in the Polish School of Posters. Their output is visually striking and emotionally charged while maintaining a strong intellectual foundation. They frequently utilize hand-drawn illustrations incorporated into photographic imagery—a technique referred to as dessin dans l’image—which debuted in the Yohji Yamamoto Spring/Summer 1999 catalogue.
Public collections
M/M’s creations are preserved within several leading public art collections across the globe:
- Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris
- Centre National des Arts Plastiques, Paris
- Centre Pompidou, Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris
- Cneai (Centre National de l'Estampe et de l'Art Imprimé), Chatou
- Design Museum, London
- Fonds national d’art contemporain, Paris
- Guan Shan Yue Art Museum, Shenzhen
- Maison du livre et de l’affiche, Chaumont
- Miami Museum of Contemporary Art
- Museum für Gestaltung, Zürich
- MMK, Frankfurt-am-Main
- Musée d’art moderne de la ville de Paris
- Queensland Gallery of Modern Art
- Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
- Tate Modern, London
- Vanabbemuseum, Eindhoven