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Patrick Whitaker & Keir Malem have been together professionally & personally for over 35 years. Renowned in particular for their leatherwork, the self-proclaimed ‘Pop-Artisans’ have spent more than three decades obsessing over the human form, crafting what they describe as body-based sculptures that occupy a unique realm between art, fashion and costume. Their influence on popular culture encompasses various creative fields & has led to involvement with many leading visionaries.

Fashion collaborations have included: Alexander McQueen for Givenchy Haute Couture, Hussein Chalayan, Christian Louboutin, Tommy Hilfiger, Burberry, Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY, and Giles Deacon.

Whitaker Malem’s creations have been photographed by David LaChapelle, Ellen Von Unwerth, Helmut Newton, Mario Testino, Rankin, Terry O’Neill and Tim Walker, and featured in fashion editorials by Herb Ritts for British Vogue, Pierre et Gilles for Vogue France and more recently by Rafael Pavarotti for Vogue Italia.

Music performers including Madonna, Mick Jagger, Janet Jackson, Bono, Cher, Paula Abdul, Gloria Estefan, Paloma Faith, Doja Cat, Megan Thee Stallion & Tove Lo, amongst others, have all worn their designs.

Over the last 20 years the duo have also worked on numerous movie franchises such as James Bond, Harry Potter and Fast & Furious, notably creating over 100 armour costumes for Wonder Woman (2017). Other film productions include Aquaman, Eragon, 300: Rise of an Empire, and Clash of the Titans. They have also created superhero suits for Captain America The First Avenger and Batman: The Dark Knight.

2017 saw the first solo Whitaker Malem exhibition at The Gallery Liverpool, showing retrospective work and introducing Transmorphic Super-people, an optimistic exploration of the multiple possibilities of fluid sexual identities. Their work has also been exhibited worldwide in various group shows.

In parallel, for the last 25 years, Patrick & Keir have enjoyed working closely with celebrated British pop artist Allen Jones, dressing many of his hypersexualised sculptures.

The foundation of Whitaker Malem’s creative output is a lifelong fascination with the human form and the desire to use their craft to explore questions of gender, identity and sexuality. Having pushed the boundaries of these themes through fashion and sculpture for decades, their work continues to evolve.