Nick Knight - Beasting

I recently rediscovered BEASTING, an arresting body of work from ace photographer Nick Knight, a result of his decade long professional relationship with John Galliano. An intense shoot for Arena Homme +, Beasting features the Autumn Winter 2007 collection of John Galliano’s menswear line. Nick Knight, who calls his association with Galliano a source of ‘continual stimulation’, has
captured a visually powerful brawny spectacle.

Knight’s reputation for pushing technical and creative boundaries is on full display here. After having worked on several controversial issues, ranging from racism, disability, ageism and fat-ism, Knight’s shots of the brawny males depict militaristic ritual and untamed pagan energy.



The cover image shows an intimidating man-beast with six arms, a fascinating symbol of hyper-masculinity. The brawny beast wears the headpieces, and garments of John Galliano’ menswear collection. The shots are a disturbing and fascinating blend of combative and sexual frenzy, where limbs and bodies seem to merge into one another. It’s indomitably a man’s space, with overtones of war and rough-play.




The man behind the shoot, celebrated photographer Nick Knight, refers to his body of work as ‘an ongoing communication, a response to events’. Nick’s work for publications includes i-D, Vogue, Dazed & Confused, The Face and Visionaire. His list of clients features Yohji Yamamoto, Christian Dior, YSL, Björk, Alexander McQueen, Massive Attack, and Calvin Klein. Apart from these big names, he has also worked with Jil Sander, Louis Vuitton, Vivienne Westwood, and Comme des Garçons’ Rei Kawakubo.