Whitaker Malem

Whitaker Malem
Privately held company, partnership
Industry Fashion/Costume & Art
Headquarters Islington, North London, Southeast England, United Kingdom
Number of locations
 UK, United States, etc.
Area served
 National and international
Key people
 Patrick Whitaker
Keir Malem
Products Leather/specialty haute couture products
Website WhitakerMalem.co.uk

Whitaker Malem is a British leatherware design and production company based in London. Founded by Patrick "Paddy" Whitaker and Keir Malem in 1988,[1] the company specializes in leatherwork for the fashion, film and art industries.[2] They have designed and fabricated costumes and armor for major studio films such as Die Another Day[3] and 300: Rise of an Empire.[4] They also developed the bat suit for The Dark Knight in 2008,[5] as well as Captain America's suit in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011). Wrote the fashion magazine Dazed & Confused in 2011, a "form fitting approach to body con," "intricate leather work and a truly imaginative, fantasy driven aesthetic are the common elements that make up a Whitaker Malem piece."[6]

Whitaker Malem have had their designs featured in photoshoots by Herb Ritts, Helmut Newton and Mario Testino, and used by stylists such as Kate Moss.[7] The company has also designed work for fashion lines by designers such as Hussein Chalayan and Alexander McQueen, and celebrities such as Steven Tyler, Cher, Paula Abdul and Madonna have worn Whitaker Malem designs.[8][1] They are also involved with an "ongoing sculpture fabrication process" with pop artist Allen Jones.[2] The company's work is in the permanent collections of a number of museum and cultural projects,[2] such as The Museum of Leathercraft.[9]

History

1980s-90s: First projects

The two founders of Whitaker Malem, Patrick "Paddy" Whitaker and Keir Malem, first met in London in 1986. At the time Whitaker was a fashion student at Central Saint Martin's, and he asked Malem[6] to help on his final degree show. Recollected Whitaker in an interview with Société Perrier, "We said we’d never work together again after that, and completely the reverse happened."[10] In 1988[1] the two went on to pursue careers in the fashion industry.[10]

"Having received a degree of press in the early 90s from the likes of UK Vogue and the now defunct Face Magazine, the duo were contacted by Katy England to work with Alexander McQueen on his debut Givenchy Couture collection and given complete trust and control.... the structural McQueen pieces led on to work with Gucci, Valentino and later Hussein Chalayan."[6]
— Dazed & Confused[6]

The self-styled "designer-artisans"[10][2] began taking commissions as a duo both in England and internationally.[2] According to the Whitaker Malem website, "Early Whitaker Malem collections set out to explore the concept of wearable sculpture using pioneering leather moulding techniques."[2] 1991 saw Whitaker Malem create the "male half" of Andrew Logan's Alternative Miss World outfit, which they continued to do for every event since.[6]

At the re-opening of the Bauhaus Art School Dessau in 1992, Vidal Sassoon commissioned ceremonial costumes for the event and in1993 their designs were worn by Naomi Campbell in a television advertisement.[8][1] In an interview with the fashion magazine Dazed & Confused in 2011, Whitaker stated that "Our early work was always in leather - we developed our own technique for handling moulded leather that was derived from the knowledge of footwear construction I had learnt at college."[6]

In the mid 1990s Whitaker Malem began working in film, designing principal costumes for Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, and Middleton's Changeling.[4] They also worked in high fashion, producing pieces for Alexander McQueen's first collection with Givenchy Haute Couture in 1997[8][1] and Giovanni Valentino's 1998 fashion line.[11] From 1998-2001 they created fashion show pieces for Tommy Hilfiger and began their art projects working with British pop artist Allen Jones.[10]

2000s: Costumes and fashion pieces

Leatherwear by Whitaker Malem for Tommy Hilfiger's Red Label collection

In the early 2000s the company worked on specialty costumes for a number of major blockbuster films. Among the first of those projects was designing and producing the knife belt that Halle Berry wears in the 2002 James Bond film Die Another Day,[3] as well as a fencing corset for Madonna in the same film.[12] The work led to a number of commissions by other major studios. Explained Whitaker, "That image of Halle Berry [emerging from the ocean] was the most reproduced image of one person that year and [costume designer Lindy Hemming] was extraordinarily generous in making sure people knew we did that.”[10]

Eragon metal armor by Whitaker Malem

They went on to make special costumes for Angelina Jolie in Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003), principal costumes for Brad Pitt in Troy (2004),[6] Orlando Bloom in Kingdom of Heaven (2005), and Charlize Theron Æon Flux (2005).[4] For Eragon (2006), the company was responsible for the principal couture leather of the lead actors.[5] The company handled special costumes for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007),[4] and in 2008, the company handled two major projects in film: the principal racing leathers for the live-action Speed Racer, and development of the bat suit for The Dark Knight,[5] also used in The Dark Knight Rises.[2] For the Speed Racer character Racer X, the company was responsible for costuming Matthew Fox.[2]

The company has designed work for fashion lines by Hussein Chalayan, who used Whitaker Malem leather bustiers for his Paris Fashion Week fall collection of 2009. Wrote The Telegraph about the show, "There was a definite sexual thrust [to the collection]" that partly came from the "organ-stop, leather bustiers and 'bums' in every colour of the rainbow, including neons, produced [by]... Whitaker Malem."[13] In an article concerning BDSM-themed couture in the style of 1960s pop artist Allen Jones, a long-term client of Whitaker Malem's, The Independent wrote in 2014 that "Jones's work has never really fallen out of style... even the cerebral Hussein Chalayan has been seduced by Jones's vision: in 2009 he turned to leather specialists Whitaker Malem (who make Jones's second-skin body pieces) to create calfskin anatomical protrusions to adorn body-conscious dresses."[14] Also in 2009, "Paddy" Whitaker was featured in an episode of SHOWstudio.[15]

2010-14: Recent years

The company is still involved with an "ongoing sculpture fabrication process" with artist Allen Jones, whose work is pictured here.[2]

Since 2010, the company has worked as costume or armor modelers for several blockbusters, including Goddess armor for Clash of the Titans (2010) and Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), where Whitaker Malem built the suit for Captain America.[16] They also built the principal armor for Jack the Giant Slayer (2013), and in 2014, the company was responsible for the leather-wear in 300: Rise of an Empire, particularly the armor worn by the lead actress Eva Green.[4]

Their leatherwear has also been adopted into designer collections by brands such as Givenchy, Gucci, Valentino and Tommy Hilfiger.[2] When Alexander McQueen designed his first Givenchy Haute Couture show, Whitaker Malem contributed the "gilded body sculpture" worn by Alek Wek.[2] Wrote the fashion magazine Dazed & Confused in 2011, a "form fitting approach to body con, beautifully intricate leather work and a truly imaginative, fantasy driven aesthetic are the common elements that make up a Whitaker Malem piece."[6] In 2011, both founders appeared in a documentary video by i-D Online, where they talked about the company's leatherwork.[17] In his 2011 article on Whitaker Malem for Love Magazine, Isaac Lock quoted artist Allen Jones saying they "have accumulated a great knowledge of how leather works and how to make the most of the material' adding that 'they don't have an equal anywhere in terms of their skill."[18]

Whitaker Malem leatherwork was used in a Vogue UK photo spread in September 2014. Kate Moss served as stylist, selecting a bronzed corset by Whitaker Malem for the forest photo shoot[19] featuring Dutch model Lara Stone and photographer Mario Sorrenti.[7] The company's work has been contributed to a number of museums of cultural projects operated by the British Council.[2] The Museum of Leathercraft, for example, has a Whitaker Malem leather torso, which it commissioned for its permanent Waterer Spiers Collection.[9]

Notable projects

Selected production credits for Whitaker Malem[4]
Yr Project/film Notes, role
1992 Bauhaus Art School Dessau (re-opening) Ceremonial costumes
1997 Givenchey Haute Couture Leather couture
2001 Allen Jones sculpture Sculpture fabrication (exhibited at Royal Academy of Arts London)
2002 Die Another Day Special costumes (belt for Halle Berry, bodice for Madonna)[3]
2003 Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life Special costumes
2004 Troy Special costumes (Brad Pitt's leather armor)[6]
2005 Kingdom of Heaven Special costumes
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Special costumes - uncredited
Æon Flux Special costumes
2006 Eragon Principal couture leather[5]
2007 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Special costumes
2008 Speed Racer Principal racer leathers - as Keir Malem
The Dark Knight Bat suit shop[5]
2009 Hussein Chalayan Fall Fashion Line Leather couture[14] (debut at Paris Fashion Week)[13]
2010 Clash of the Titans Armor maker
2011 Captain America: The First Avenger Suit modeller - as Keir Malem
2012 Cloud Atlas Assistant costume designer - as Patrick Whitaker
2013 Jack the Giant Slayer Principal armour[5]
2014 300: Rise of an Empire Principal leather-wear & Eva Green armour
tba Jupiter Ascending Costume fx designer

Gallery

Main gallery: Whitaker Malem at WikiCommons

Further reading

Articles and interview
Profiles

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Keir Malem at Debretts
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Whitaker Malem". whitakermalem.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-10-25.
  3. 1 2 3 Cosgrave, Bronwyn. "Bond, James Bond: Fifty years of 007’s lifestyle in cinema". ISBN Magazine. Retrieved 2014-10-25.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Whitaker Malem". imdb. Retrieved 2014-10-25.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Whitaker Malem Filmography". The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-10-25.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Whitaker Malem - Fashion Archive". Dazed & Confused. November 2011. Retrieved 2014-10-25.
  7. 1 2 Moore, Anoulack (August 7, 2014). "Vogue UK". Just Walking By. Retrieved 2014-10-25.
  8. 1 2 3 Patrick Whitaker at Debretts
  9. 1 2 "Whitaker Malem Torso". Museum of Leathercraft. Retrieved 2014-10-25.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Barron, Nick (March 23, 2012). "Whitaker Malem: A Triple Threat in Leather". Style Barron/Société Perrier. Retrieved 2014-10-25.
  11. ↑ "Giovanni Valentino Products". giannibotsford.com. Retrieved 2014-10-25.
  12. ↑ Wild, Abigail (November 20, 2002). "Glamour to dye for Bond costume designer Lindy Hemming explains to Abigail Wild why 007 is still huge: and it's all for the wrong reasons". The Herald. Retrieved 2014-10-25.
  13. 1 2 Alexander, Hilary (March 8, 2009). "Paris Fashion Week: Hussein Chalayan". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2014-10-25.
  14. 1 2 Fury, Alexander (October 26, 2014). "'Fetishism and fashion? It's a perfect match...'". The Independent. Retrieved 2014-10-25.
  15. ↑ "Louise Goldin 'Collaboration' Episode with Paddy Whitaker". SHOWstudio. March 11, 2009. Retrieved 2014-10-25.
  16. ↑ Moore, Ben (February 10, 2012). "Captain America Producer & Cast Talk Costumes, Plot Points & Sequels". Screenrant. Retrieved 2014-10-25.
  17. ↑ Cannon, Scarlett (February 4, 2011). "i-D Online: i-N conversation with Whitaker Malem". iD (Heavenly Healer Glamorous Gardener). Retrieved 2014-10-25.
  18. ↑ Lock, Isaac (2011). "Whitaker Malem". Love Magazine.
  19. ↑ "Lara Stone by Mario Sorrenti for Vogue UK September 2014". The Fashionagraphy. August 4, 2014. Retrieved 2014-10-25.

External links

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