The humble magazine cover has become quite the talking point since celebrities eclipsed models as fodder in the early 2000s. Reinvention is the name of the game and none do it better than the likes of glossy fashion tomes like V, Pop and Interview. 

Looking back over the last decade or so, we had to ask ourselves, was there ever a time when photographers Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott weren't involved in the ever-whirring carousel of iconic celebrity makeovers? Along with stylists like Katy Grand and make-up artists like Pat McGrath, they've virtually changed the way that magazines create their covers - from a naked, manequinn-esque Kylie on a 2003 cover of Pop, to Kate Moss's more recent outing as Ziggy Stardust on the cover of French Vogue.

So, what's the magic recipe? Take one celebrity, preferably on the verge of a breakthrough or breakdown, dress them up in some nuts high-fashion garb and paint their faces like a mad woman. Of course there are some that are genuinely, devastatingly beautiful too - see Katie Perry's Dolce & Gabanna inspired Interview cover circa 2012 and Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe on American Vogue. Either way, the name of the game has been to challenge our perceptions, shock and surprise us and boy, have they had fun trying.

Take a look through the gallery above to revisit the most memorable magazine makeovers of the last 20 years.