Publisher: Big Magazine
Photographer: Nick Knight
Stylist/Creative Director: Simon Foxton
Format: Soft Cover with Fold-Out Poster
Pages: 78
Print Details: Full-color offset printing with a mix of glossy and matte finishes.
In 1997, Nick Knight and stylist Simon Foxton collaborated on Big War for Big Magazine No. 18, a project that Knight described as exploring "the futility of violence." Reflecting on the issue's concept, Knight stated that it was meant "to suggest that we are prepared to kill each other over the most trivial of differences," drawing attention to the alarming death rates in modern American inner cities, which he noted were "shockingly higher than in many war zones." This cultural critique was woven into a visually arresting editorial that merged avant-garde fashion with militaristic elements, creating a striking and subversive narrative.
Knight’s technical approach to Big War was shaped by his transition from traditional photography to digital post-production, a shift he called “thrillingly infinite.” By the late 1980s and early 1990s, he had moved from working in darkrooms with enlargers like the Sinar to directing operators on systems like the Quantel Paintbox. Knight recalled, “What was possible with this new machine felt distinctly different.” It allowed him to combine elements from multiple photographs—up to ten or more—to create a single composite image, breaking away from Henri Cartier-Bresson’s celebrated concept of "the decisive moment." Instead, Knight embraced digital tools as a new creative medium, one that redefined not only how images were made but how they were conceived.
In Big War, Knight’s innovative use of these technologies is evident in the layered, cinematic quality of the images, which juxtapose rawness with polish. Military-inspired garments styled by Foxton—camouflage prints, utility vests, and deconstructed uniforms—were juxtaposed with high-fashion elements, creating a dialogue between the aesthetics of war and the artifice of fashion. The models were cast as both aggressors and victims, embodying the paradoxical roles of power and vulnerability.
Knight’s broader philosophy on the evolution of image-making resonates throughout the issue. He championed the digital medium as something to be celebrated, not constrained by the rules of traditional photography. “The paintbox not only changed how I created an image but changed how I conceived one,” Knight reflected. “This was a new medium, the best name so far for this new medium is image-making.” The experimental techniques he pioneered in Big War—collaging, retouching, and layering—would later become defining features of his oeuvre and influential across the fashion industry.
