Photographer-cum-superhero Nick Knight fights crimes of fashion wherever he goes. Gliding easily between the super-slick world of ad campaigns—Christian Dior, Yohji Yamamoto—and frank, humanistic portraits of those marginalized by society, he's perpetually on fashion's front lines armed only with a camera. Since first documenting skinheads in the early 1980s, the shutter-happy Londoner has infused his work for The Face, i-D, Dazed & Confusedand British Vogue with a genuine interest in animal rights, breast cancer awareness and visibility for the physically challenged. There are no fashion victims in Knight's vision.

After recently turning down a contract renewal from American Vogue, the father of three is now eager to concentrate on family matters and his online laboratory, Showstudio, where an assortment of fashion greats experiment with new ideas and images. Here, fashion's good guy speaks to LEE CARTER about his new direction.