My Luxuries: photographer Nick Knight on rare minerals, brutalist architecture and the best shirtmaker you've never heard of
The star photographer, who this autumn has created a campaign for a new collaboration between Mackintosh and Alyx, reveals his essential indulgences
How would you define your style?
I stick to a uniform: black Kilgour suits – I like their minimalism and simplicity. They created a mac for me. The mac is a garment I love, and that fed into why I wanted to do a campaign for the Mackintosh collaboration with cult label Alyx.
Who’s in your sartorial address book?
The late Frank Foster was a hugely interesting man: a street fighter who owned a club next to the Krays, who then became a shirt maker. He created shirts for everyone in the 1960s: David Bailey, Sean Connery… They are beautifully made with distinctive collars and what he termed the ‘cocktail cuff ’.
What’s on your walls?
I don’t collect art or photography – SHOWstudio [his pioneering multimedia site] is more about giving support and a platform. That’s what gives me pleasure.
What art inspires you?
I love how Bauhaus or Warhol’s Factory brought together a collection of creatives.
What’s your idea of dream design?
David Chipperfield created our house in the 1980s in Richmond. It caused controversy because it didn’t fit in among the mock Tudors. His designs are beautiful and brutal, but he’s a very human architect, too – his buildings are for living in.
Style references?
I grew up in the 1970s so, for me, it’s James Bond, black and white TV depictions of Americana and the skinhead era.
Favourite vista?
The view from Richmond Hill. I lived in a tower block in west London as a student– maybe there’s an affinity with that skyline.
What do you collect?
Minerals. I started when my son was young and became fascinated with them at the Natural History Museum. Some are beautiful: chunks of hemimorphite are like a crashing wave.
Ultimate luxury?
I’m vehemently opposed to Brexit, so it’d be a luxury to be able to turn on my radio and admire what politicians are doing.
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