It's a beautiful shot, albeit a touch boring, but sometimes people just want something that sells them the simple idea of glamour.
As for Mert & Marcus recycling their own imagery, it's nothing new, in every sense. Generally speaking, I remember when their approach seemed like a breath of fresh air in magazines, but now my heart sinks a little when I see their names in a thread, because what they produce is starting to seem so ubiquitous, repetitive - and due to the amount of visual manipulation - frequently lacking the depth that would sustain a second look over time.