Photography: Mastered 2015 with Nick Knight
In late 2015 (carrying over to 2016), I was picked to join a special group from over 12,000 applicants from around the world to participate in a one-off mentorship conducted personally by acclaimed British fashion photographer Nick Knight (OBE). The mentorship lasted for over 4 months wrapping up in February of 2016. During that time I took over 5000 photographs as part of a gruelling series of briefs, which (for me) included shoots for brands such as Adidas, Pringle of Scotland, Camilla, Sea Folly and When Freddie Met Lilly.
During that time my work was reviewed by some of the biggest names in the fashion industry including Knight, Craig McDean (acclaimed fashion image maker); Alessia Glaviano (Senior Photo Editor of Vogue Italia and L’Uomo Vogue; Web Editor of Vogue Italia); Gary Aspden (brand consultant and brand adviser to Adidas); Sophia Neophitou (Editor-in-chief, 10 Magazine) and many more amazing talents from the fashion industry.
The purpose of the mentorship was to push (and keep pushing!) the participants to explore their artistic voices using real briefs and real jobs up for grabs.
“Brett, you’ve shown great ideas truly in line with the Pringle of Scotland mindset”
Ginger Rose Clark (Global Blue, News-Editor; 1883 Magazine, Fashion-Editor, Fashion and Lifestyle Journalist)
Read more below as well as profile on Nick Knight
This program was amazing. Not only did I get to work with great brands and talented creatives from around the world but was also teamed within the program with 15 art directors and fashion photographers from New York, Paris, London, Berlin and Rio, to name but a handful. This was designed to shake things up culturally and provide a cross-pollination of creative thinking. It provided me with new knowledge and skills for the fashion industry, as well as valuable insights about managing a team of creatives and budgeting. I am very grateful to Nick Knight, his team at SHOWstudio and Team Mastered for a fantastic experience and opportunity. There continues a class alumni, frequent contact with Nick Knight and the team at Mastered, as well as friendships to last a lifetime.
Nick Knight OBE Profile
Nick Knight is among the world’s most influential and visionary photographers, and founder and director of award-winning fashion website SHOWstudio.com. As a fashion photographer, he has consistently challenged conventional notions of beauty and is fêted for his groundbreaking creative collaborations with leading designers including Yohji Yamamoto, John Galliano, Alexander McQueen. Advertising campaigns for the most prestigious clients such as Christian Dior, Lancôme, Swarovski, Tom Ford, Calvin Klein or Yves Saint Laurent as well as award-winning editorial for W, British Vogue, Paris Vogue, Dazed & Confused, Another, Another Man and i-D magazines have consistently kept Knight at the vanguard of progressive image-making for the past three decades. He has directed award winning music videos for Bjork, Lady Gaga and Kanye West.
His first book of photographs, Skinheads, was published in 1982, winning a DandAD award in 1996. He has since produced Nicknight, a twelve year retrospective, and Flora, a series of flower pictures, both published by Schirmer Mosel. His latest book entitled Nick Knight was published by Harper Collins in 2009 .His work has been exhibited at such international art institutions as the Tate Modern, Victoria & Albert Museum, Saatchi Gallery, the Photographers’ Gallery, Hayward Gallery and the Gagosian Gallery. In 1993, he also produced a permanent installation, Plant Power, for the Natural History Museum in London. (sourced: SHOWstudio.com)
Not content with the traditional fashion show set up and intrigued by the possibilities offered by the web for displaying fashion, the ever forward-thinking Tom Ford tapped Nick Knight to direct a fashion film featuring his S/S 16 collection. Released in conjunction with Paris Fashion Week, the video features Lady Gaga alongside models Mica Arga, Lexi Bolling, Kayla Scott, Xaio Wen Ju, Valery Kaufman, Aymeline Valade, Lida Fox, Lucky Blue Smith, Alex Dunstan, David Agbodji and Tarun Nijjer. So crank up your speakers and click play!
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