THE FINAL PROGRAMME DVD box art, left, featuring the ‘transmorphic’ movie poster image co-created by Allen Jones and Philip Castle. Right: Jenny Runacre photographed by Byron Newman
Keir explains: “We love the way latex performs on the body. We always come back to an image that Allen Jones took in 1972 of actress Jenny Runacre wearing an orange catsuit.”
[Editor’s note: The following year, Jenny Runacre (above right) starred in The Final Programme, a British sci-fi movie (based on the Michael Moorcock novel of that name) for which Jones co-created the ‘transmorphic’ poster image (above left). The photo of Jenny that Patrick refers to may have influenced Jones’ contribution to the poster art, but as far as we know, it wasn‘t shot with that purpose in mind.]
“We are obsessed by bodies — how they move, what they look like,” Keir continues. “And as lifelong naturists we feel there is nothing more interesting than the human body. That is where we started making those transmorphic things — men’s and women’s bits…
“The thing I like about latex is the way it compresses the body. When you move wearing latex, it’s interesting to see what happens.”
Keir adds that he thinks very large people who wear latex can create extraordinary images, rather like the “sucking-out process” of vac beds.
Cross-polination between leather and latex
Over the years there has been a cross-pollination between leather and latex design ideas favoured by celebs.
There was a recent transition point where, it appeared, the fashion media had finally got used to what latex looked like and had stopped wrongly describing it as leather or PVC.
But as this was observed, some celebs (perhaps prompted by their stylists) jumped ship and started wearing full-length leather gowns that looked so much like Atsuko Kudo latex creations that some pundits mistook them for latex!
Latex enthusiasts might even suggest that latex designers showed the world what could be done with their chosen second-skin material, and leather designers have now started copying them.
DUA LIPA’s Versace leather gown at 2024’s Brits was mistaken for latex by pundits at the time
As regards celeb style on international red carpets, it currently looks like leather has overtaken latex as the favoured material for kink and kink-adjacent looks.
As a latex designer myself, I think it’s clear that fashion works in cycles. Years ago it was heavily reliant on fashion forecasting, and designers would follow trends forecast by brand trend agencies.
But now that high streets have changed from independent boutiques to homogenised chain outlets, those trends no longer have such relevance — especially if a label is totally independent, as both Whitaker Malem and Atsuko Kudo are.
Yet both leather and latex do seem to still be a go-to for eye-catching headline features. They just switch positions depending on which fabric is flavour of the moment.
Hard times before first big break c/o Bros
Rewinding now to when Patrick Whitaker was at St Martins in the mid-’80s, the prospect of working for a couture-led top-end company after leaving art school was not a given, as St Martins at that time did not help their students find jobs, and you were left to your own devices.
To supplement income from Whitaker Malem’s own design work, Patrick worked in the jewellery department of Harrods. Fortuitously at this time, one of WM’s beautiful leather jackets was on display in one of the Harrods windows alongside a Gaultier display.
At that time, Keir — who did not have a design background — was working at the Minema cinema and also as a youth worker in youth theatre.
This gives an indication of the duo’s origins: their background was not privileged and progress was tough for them.
Their first notable success came when boy band Bros, who were frequent customers in Harrods, asked the pair to design their stage gear — which they did for several shows, enabling them to begin working just for themselves full-time.
“We made 15 jackets for Bros over a year or two,” Patrick recalls, “and for their Wembley show, also made waistcoats that lit up. These had huge battery packs and wiring hidden inside, and my mum made resin shields for their jackets.”
My first encounter with Patrick and Keir
I first met Patrick and Keir around that same time, having purchased one of their jackets in A La Mode and Feathers, a small boutique that they supplied.
I was wearing a black leather tailored jacket outside Harrods when a man came up to me and asked me where I’d bought it.
He enquired whether I’d paid full price for it, adding “I’m only asking because I made that jacket”.
The questioner turned out to be Patrick, and I was invited to visit WM personally for any future purchases. I subsequently bought two more jackets, and I treasure that opportune meeting and possession of those wonderful items.
One of the WM jackets I own employed a technique they invented to create raised, moulded shapes that were appliquéd onto the leather skins to resemble the nodular skin of a crocodile.
Only six were made — including a tailcoat version Mick Jagger has worn to perform on stage. Madonna later wore a black bustier based on a gilet using the same technique.
Dressing Madonna for Die Another Day
MADONNA in WM crocodile skin-effect bustier she wore for her cameo in Die Another Day
She had originally seen it in an Elle magazine feature and wore it for her cameo appearance in 2002 Bond film Die Another Day.
It was Whitaker Malem’s first film break, and unusually they had a huge credit at the end of the film. Often when providing clothes for films, creators names are lost in the end credits among the hundreds of other contributors. But theirs appeared alongside Aston Martin, Bollinger etc: a huge accolade for them.
[Editor’s note: The fact that the film’s (recently deceased) director Lee Tamahori was a big fetish scene fan might have had some bearing on the prominence of the credit WM received in it. When in London, Lee and his girlfriend often hung out with a group of scene pals that included Torture Garden’s David and Allen — and me, Tony M.
We got to attend the Royal Albert Hall premiere of Die Another Day and Lee told me he’d even tried to get his female lead Halle Berry to wear a latex bikini for her swimming scene in the film, but she was having none of it!]
If you’re making leather in the unique way WM do, it takes courage to keep producing limited editions to ensure your products remain exclusive. Working in films, which they’ve been able to do since their ‘Bond break’, has enabled them to hone their craft and fulfil their fascination with sci-fi and robotic heroines.
JANE FONDA’s costumes in Barbarella ignited Whitaker Malem’s passion for dramatic clothes
Specifically, it seems that seeing Jane Fonda in Barbarella (1968) ignited their passion for dramatic clothes. Film would become the perfect vehicle for team development, guaranteeing huge exposure for their craft.
Meanwhile, working with celebrities — which WM also do — nearly always involves a mediator, usually a stylist who will act as go-between with the celeb.
Love ’em or…? The rise and rise of stylists
Using stylists was a phenomenon that started way back in the 19th century and became more prevalent with the increased popularity of magazines (in which styling had originally been dictated solely by editors and photographers).
But during the 1980s the explosion in style magazines led to stylists becoming influential people in their own right.
As a designer you do not know — after a stylist calls-in some of your pieces for a theme or feature — if said pieces are going to be used or how they will be styled for publication.
But in the mid-’80s, when I launched my EctoMorph latex label, just to be asked to provide garments was often flattering enough.
The Face was probably one of the first independent magazines to pioneer this concept. When done well, it’s a brilliant process that will add to the creative life of the pieces featured, in ways the designer never visualised.
Many stylists like Grace Coddington and Sarah Jane Hoare (who both worked for Vogue) became famous for their creative direction and could command huge budgets for location shoots.
Whitaker Malem Images/Album 02: 2010–2019
BELOW: More favourite large images from the WM website, including larger versions of – or larger alternatives to – some of the single-column pictures featured across the article’s three pages.
CLICK/TAP either preview to open its gallery, then click/tap any image to start slideshow
Tags: Artists, Designers, Leather
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