Nick Knight is associated with fashion photography and https://www.artlook.us/service/wedding-photo-booths-nyc/, moreover, he is inextricably linked with the fashion world. But the photographer cannot be called “one of”. Unlike the photographs of many figures in this area, his work stands out for its innovativeness and non-standard. Knight’s photographs are amazing. It does not reflect trends, it sets them.
The future cult photographer began his career, like many others, with a simple passion for photography. It helped him impress the fair sex.
Nick was born in London on November 24, 1958. His family adhered to very democratic views on the upbringing of children, so the boy always felt the support of his parents in all his endeavors.
Knight’s mother was a physical therapist and his father was a psychologist, which influenced the level of freethinking in the family. Already in adolescence, a rebellious spirit woke up in the guy. His protest against the “totalitarian” school system was expressed in thoughts, behavior, appearance. Nick scorned the uniform, wore defiantly long hair and used make-up. Later, his hairstyle will change, and he will join the ranks of the skinheads popular in the 70s. In England of those years, the skinhead subculture had nothing to do with racial hostility, but only expressed contempt for the bourgeoisie and the hypocrisy of society.
By the end of school, Knight clearly understood that his passion for photography and lack of abilities in the natural sciences crossed out any initial hopes for a medical career. The young man chose Bournemouth and Poole, a college of design and art. In 1980, Nick’s graduation work was a selection of monochrome portraits of his skinhead friends, and 2 years later it was published as a separate photo book.
This is the starting point in Knight’s successful career. Robin Derrick – an influential person in the fashion publishing industry, at that time the creative director of i-D magazine, drew attention to the work of “Skinheads”. Derrick liked her so much that he ordered a hundred black-and-white photographic portraits from the young talent to be placed in the anniversary issue of the magazine. Nick masterfully coped with the task, which greatly impressed Mark Ascoli, the art director of the publication. In 1986, he personally invites Knight to collaborate with Yoji Yamamoto. Nick was to shoot a designer catalog featuring Naomi Campbell. In the process, the photographer also involved the artist Peter Saville. The success of the project was so great that Yamamoto extended Nick’s contract until 1997.
In 1982, a girl came to the photo studio, which was organized by Knight, for an internship. She turned out to be Charlotte Wheeler, who later became the wife of the maestro. Nick’s strong marriage is the exception rather than the rule in the fashion scene. The photographer still lives happily with his Charlotte and three children in London.
In addition to fashion projects, the photographer is involved in creating exhibitions for museums. In 1993, in collaboration with David Chipperfield, a renowned architect, Nick prepared the permanent exhibition Plant Power, which is housed at the Natural History Museum in London.
In the same year, Knight shot the iconic cover of the November Vogue with Linda Evangelista and the caption “glamour is back.” The frame began to personify the decline of the grunge era.
Nick earns worldwide fame, a huge number of celebrities work with him. The photographer shoots album covers for David Bowie, Elvis Costello, Björk, Kylie Minogue and Massive Attack. Nick productively collaborates with the popular designer Alexander McQueen, shoots advertising projects for the best brands and fashion houses in Europe.
In 1994, the maestro released another photo book called Nicknight, which collected the best creations from the previous 12 years. After 3 years, the next Flora photo album was released, in which only pictures of flowers are presented.
Since 1997 Knight has been working with Dior. This collaboration lasted more than 10 years and had a tremendous impact on the development of both the photographer and the brand.
Nick was such a subtle and up-to-date artist that sometimes he was even ahead of his time. At the turn of the century, he launched his own online resource dedicated to the fashion industry. The site SHOWstudio.com since November 2000 has become a unique space for figures of the fashion environment. Artists, designers, fashion designers and models – all creative people got access to information and the opportunity to implement various projects. Knight created an interactive platform that allows like-minded people to create something completely new. The Internet site is very popular, its daily visits reach half a million. Nick often conducts live interviews with creative personalities who are of interest, first of all, to the author himself. Among them are John Galliano, Kate Moss, Philip Lim, Bjork, Susie Manx and many others.
The legendary Pirelli calendar in 2004 was designed by Nick Knight. Filming took place in London with the participation of such models as Natalia Vodianova, Karolina Kurkova, Amanda Moore and others. The result exceeded all expectations – the pages of the calendar resembled psychedelic images in which beautiful female silhouettes were guessed.
Knight is a terrible perfectionist, as everyone who has worked with him knows. He pays attention to the smallest details and wants to control every second of the process. It is impossible not to recognize his futuristic style, because Nick likes to experiment in everything. It has been criticized for being overly staged and computer-generated, but Knight sees it as a necessity. Many of his works look like impressionist paintings. The combination of colors, light and shadow, the very idea of a frame – everything is so amazing that it cannot but bewitch.
Nick breaks stereotypes and breaks the established patterns of society. In his photo shoots, models participate who have no legs or arms – for the master this is not an obstacle in order to see aesthetics in people.
Popular singer Lady Gaga is unrecognizable in the male image in which her photographer captured. For her, Knight even shot a music video for the song Born this way in 2011. 10 years before, the maestro had already acted as a music video director for Björk, and in 2013 he directed a video for Kanye West.
