Nick Knight on ikon-1, Digital Fashion, and Beauty as Ethics | Unreleased NFT Magazine Podcast

Previously unreleased: this NFT Magazine interview is published here for the first time. Photographer and image-maker Nick Knight, founder of SHOWstudio, talks with David Cash about ikon-1, his first NFT collection, and why he believes artists need to help build the metaverse. The conversation runs from SHOWstudio's first experiments in 2000 to 3D scanning, ZBrush, AI image generators, and the place of mistakes in making images. Hosted by David Cash. Book David to host, moderate, or speak: https://davidcash.ca Recorded remotely in August 2022 as ikon-1 was launching, Nick recalls Alexander McQueen's Plato's Atlantis livestream, the show that crashed the site and pushed most of London Fashion Week to stream the next season. He explains how the collection grew out of his long collaboration with Jazzelle Zanaughtti (Ugly Worldwide), about 40 digital-only fashion designers, and hairstylist Eugene Souleiman's found-object hairpieces, and why each NFT is meant as a ticket into future SHOWstudio events. He closes on fear of failure, the cross-processing experiments of his film days, and the trust that lets him show designers like Rei Kawakubo their work in a new way. Chapters 00:00 Intro: Nick Knight, founder of SHOWstudio 1:25 SHOWstudio and the return of the frontier 3:33 Novacene, AI, and why artists belong in the metaverse 6:18 Alexander McQueen livestreams Plato's Atlantis 10:57 3D scanning, avatars, and sculpting in ZBrush 15:32 AI image generators and the artist's medium 19:16 How ikon-1 came together 23:39 Fashion's sustainability problem and digital-only designers 29:56 The NFT as a ticket to the SHOWstudio community 34:18 From audience to community: the human touch 37:59 Mistakes, fear of failure, and spontaneity 43:35 Cross-processing and not copying the past 46:42 Trust, and a note from Rei Kawakubo 51:27 Thanks and sign-off Key topics • Founding SHOWstudio in 2000 and the early internet as frontier land • James Lovelock's Novacene and fast-developing artificial intelligence • Why the art community should engage with the metaverse • Fashion's early resistance to the internet • Alexander McQueen's Plato's Atlantis livestream and Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" • 3D scanning, avatars, and Lady Gaga's Chromatica Ball films • Sculpting figures in ZBrush • AI image generators and where the art sits in a prompt • ikon-1 and Jazzelle Zanaughtti (Ugly Worldwide) authoring her own image • Fashion's overproduction and digital-only fashion designers • Beauty as an ethical way of working • Audience participation and NFTs as access to SHOWstudio events • Mistakes, glitches, and fear of failure in image-making • Trust between photographer and designer Speakers • David Cash, host, NFT Magazine • Nick Knight, photographer, image-maker, and founder of SHOWstudio In their words "I am a great believer in beauty as a sort of ethical tool, if you want, or an ethical way of working." Nick Knight "We turn our mistakes into new possibilities." Nick Knight Recording details Recorded remotely on August 3, 2022. Previously unreleased. First published here, 2026. How to cite APA: Cash, D. (2022). Nick Knight on ikon-1, digital fashion, and beauty as ethics [Video]. YouTube.    • Nick Knight on ikon-1, Digital Fashion, an...   Chicago: Cash, David. "Nick Knight on ikon-1, Digital Fashion, and Beauty as Ethics." Recorded August 3, 2022, remotely. YouTube video, 52:21.    • Nick Knight on ikon-1, Digital Fashion, an...  . About the series NFT Magazine is a podcast hosted by David Cash about crypto art, digital fashion, and the metaverse. Season 1 was recorded in 2022–2023, live at events and remotely. A few of the remote episodes, including this one, were recorded but never released. They are archived on David Cash's YouTube channel. Watch next More interviews:    / @davidcash888   Links Cash Labs: https://cashlabs.io Instagram:   / davidcash888   LinkedIn:   / davidcash888   SHOWstudio: https://www.showstudio.com Subscribe for the full archive of conversations on technology, art, fashion, and culture. #NickKnight #SHOWstudio #DigitalFashion #CryptoArt #NFTMagazine #DavidCash