Daniel Lismore
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Daniel Lismore (born 24 December 1984) is a British fabric sculptor, designer, and campaigner. Described by
Vogue Magazine ''Vogue'' (stylized in all caps), also known as American ''Vogue'', is a monthly fashion and lifestyle magazine that covers style news, including haute couture fashion, beauty, culture, living, and runway. It is part of the global collectio ...
as ''"England's Most Eccentric Dresser"'' he is best known for his flamboyant dress sense serving a form of statement, sculpture and even armour.CNN Fashion
"Daniel Lismore: 'I don't think there's any point blending in'"
''CNN'', 14 September 2017. Retrieved on 31 January 2019


Early life

Daniel Lismore was born in Bournemouth and raised by his paternal grandparents in the village of
Fillongley Fillongley, listed as Fillungeleye in 1135, is a village and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire in England. The village is centred on the crossroads of the B4102 (which connects Solihull and Nuneaton) and the B4098 ...
, on the border of Coventry. He studied photography and fashion design at the Butts College, Coventry. He moved to London aged 17, where he worked as a photographer and model. He has been photographed by some of the world's most famous photographers including
Mert and Marcus Mert or MERT may refer to: People * Mert (given name), a Turkish masculine given name and a nickname * Mert (surname) MERT * Medical Emergency Response Team, British Armed Forces designation for in-theatre aeromedical evacuation units * Multi-En ...
, Steven Klein,
David LaChapelle David LaChapelle (born March 11, 1963) is an American photographer, music video director, and film director. He is best known for his work in fashion and photography, which often references art history and sometimes conveys social messages. His ...
,
Mario Testino Mario Eduardo Testino Silva Order of the British Empire, OBE Royal Photographic Society#Distinctions and qualifications, HonFRPS (born 30 October 1954) is a Peruvian fashion and portrait photographer. His work has featured internationally in ...
and
Ellen von Unwerth Ellen von Unwerth (born 1954) is a German photographer. She began her career as a fashion model, before becoming a fashion, editorial, and advertising photographer. Early life and education Unwerth was born in Frankfurt, West Germany. As an or ...
. A prominent fixture of the London fashion and nightlife circuits, he regularly hosted club events in
Mayfair Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...
,
Soho SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...
and East London, where he emerged as one of London's most inventive dressers at early noughties club nights like Boombox.I-D Magazin

''
i-D Magazine ''i-D'' is a British biannual magazine dedicated to fashion, music, art, film and youth culture. The magazine was launched in 1980 by Terry Jones, originally as a hand-stapled fanzine it has since evolved into a glossy publication. In 2023 the ...
'', 2 January 2016. Retrieved on 31 January 2019
As he said in an interview with ''Disorder Magazine'', ''"The first club I went to was Ghetto and I discovered Kashpoint and Boombox", he says. "Then I hosted a night at Kabarets Prophecy on Golden Square and clubs in Mayfair… all the clubs I loved have been shut down".''Disorder Magazine
is "Designer-stylist Daniel Lismore"
, ''Disorder Magazine'', 2 January 2016. Retrieved on 31 January 2019
Lismore has been named by ''Vogue'' as England's most eccentric dresser. He took various jobs in fashion, including journalism for ''i-D Magazine'', wardrobe assistant roles at
Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...
and
Pop magazine ''Pop Magazine'' was a quarterly, free press, action sports magazine, published in Australia from 2005 to 2015. Similar to the American magazine, ''Blisss'', it covered skateboarding, snowboarding and surfing news along with interviews and a li ...
. ''"I had a dream about this beautiful Maasai jacket with a nod to
Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette (; ; Maria Antonia Josefa Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last List of French royal consorts, queen of France before the French Revolution and the establishment of the French First Republic. She was the ...
. We wanted to juxtapose the richness in the two cultures, so we went to Versailles and I took out my photos from Africa and we came up with this whole collection", he says. "Working on the collection was very unlike dressing myself. I wanted to dress beautiful women, beautifully".''
Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...
,
Mariah Carey Mariah Carey ( ; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Songbird Supreme" by ''Guinness World Records'', Carey is known for her five-octave voc ...
,
Rita Ora Rita Sahatçiu Ora (; born Rita Sahatçiu; 26 November 1990) is a British singer-songwriter, television personality, and actress. Born in Pristina, modern-day Kosovo, she rose to prominence when she featured on DJ Fresh's 2012 single, "Hot Rig ...
,
Debbie Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble, July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie (band), Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1 ...
and
Cara Delevingne Cara Jocelyn Delevingne ( ; born 12 August 1992) is an English model and actress. She signed with Storm Management after leaving school in 2009. Delevingne won Model of the Year at the British Fashion Awards in 2012 and 2014, and List of award ...
are among the label's famous clientele.REYKJAVIK.CO

''Reykjavik'', 2 January 2016. Retrieved on 31 January 2019
In April 2019 Lismore gave a TED Talk at the main TED2019 conference in Vancouver, titled "Be Yourself" where for the first time he spoke about the art of living sculpture. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Lismore resided between Coventry and London working on LGBTQ+ activism and new art work including painting and 3D tapestries. February 2022, His touring museum show ‘Be Yourself, Everyone Else is Already Taken’ debuted in the Uk in his hometown of Coventry City for the UK Capital of Culture at the Herbert Art Gallery And Museum. The show was opened by artists Gilbert & George, attracting over 35,000 attendees including Boy George, Oscar Winning art director Tim Yip and
Golda Rosheuvel Golda Rosheuvel (born 2 May 1970) is a British actress and singer. She is known for her theatre work and a number of on-screen roles, most prominently for her portrayal of Queen Charlotte in the Netflix period drama series ''Bridgerton'' (2020 ...
.


Living sculpture

He is known for living his life as art by wearing elaborate and extravagant ensembles that combine
haute couture (; ; French for 'high sewing', 'high dressmaking') is the creation of exclusive custom-fitted high-end fashion design. The term ''haute couture'' generally refers to a specific type of upper garment common in Europe during the 16th to the ...
with vintage fabrics, found objects, chainmail, ethnic jewellery, millinery and more, in an expression of eccentric, creative energy. Inspired by art in all its forms - he has received comparisons to the Australian performance artist
Leigh Bowery Leigh Bowery (26 March 1961 – 31 December 1994) was an Australian performance artist, club promoter, and fashion designer. Bowery's performances featured striking costumes and make-up and were conceptual, flamboyant, outlandish, and sometime ...
and
Gilbert & George Gilbert Prousch, sometimes referred to as Gilbert Proesch (born 17 September 1943), and George Passmore (born 8 January 1942) are artists who work together as the collaborative art duo Gilbert & George. They are known for their formal appearance ...
- history and his travels, Lismore constantly combines and amalgamates multiple inspirations from around the world into vibrant expressions of cultural appropriation.


Exhibitions

In 2013, Lismore presented his first self-portrait exhibition at the
Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery in London, housing the United Kingdom's national collection of international Modern art, modern and contemporary art (created from or after 1900). It forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Live ...
followed by another show at the
Tate Britain Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in En ...
in 2014. His first solo exhibition, curated by SCAD director of fashion exhibitions Rafael Gomes - ''"Be yourself, Everyone else is already taken"'' opened at
Savannah College of Art and Design Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) is a private art school with locations in Savannah, Georgia; Atlanta, Georgia; and Lacoste, France. It was founded in 1978 to provide degrees in programs not yet offered in the southeast of the United ...
in Atlanta, Georgia, United States on 22 January 2016.SCAD
"Daniel Lismore: Be Yourself; Everyone Else Is Already Taken"
''
Savannah College of Art and Design Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) is a private art school with locations in Savannah, Georgia; Atlanta, Georgia; and Lacoste, France. It was founded in 1978 to provide degrees in programs not yet offered in the southeast of the United ...
'', 14 September 2017. Retrieved on 31 January 2019
The exhibition featured 45 sculptures, each styled individually and installed in an imperial regiment, inspired by the
Terracotta Warriors The Terracotta Army is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210–209 BCE with the purpose of protecting him in his aft ...
of
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. The travelling exhibition received over 40,000 visitors worldwide and was ranked by WGSN as the second most significant global fashion exhibition of 2016: The exhibition travelled to many other museums attracting tens of thousands of people including celebrities such as
Rose McGowan Rósa Arianna McGowan (born September 5, 1973) is an American actress and activist. After her film debut in a brief role in the comedy ''Encino Man'' (1992), she achieved recognition for her performance in the dark comedy ''The Doom Generation' ...
, Bjork and
David Beckham Sir David Robert Joseph Beckham ( ; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Primarily a right winger and known for his range of passing, cross ...
. *''February, 2022'' – Be yourself, Everyone else is already taken, The Herbert, Coventry, United Kingdom *''November, 2019'' – Be yourself, Everyone else is already taken, Stary Browser, Poznań, Poland *''July, 2019'' – Be yourself, Everyone else is already taken, Pan Museum, Naples, Italy *''June, 2018'' – Be yourself, Everyone else is already taken, Harpa Conference Center, Reykjavík, Iceland *''December, 2016'' – Be yourself, Theater of Self, Miami Art Basel, United States *''January, 2016'' – Be yourself, Everyone else is already taken, Savannah College of Art and Design, Atlanta, Georgia, United States. In 2017, Lismore was invited to exhibit alongside
Lina Condes Lina Condes (Ukr. ''Лiна Кондес''; born 3 November 1988, Cherkasy city, Ukraine) is a Ukrainian artist. She is known for her stick figure sculptures, through which she seeks to authentically represent the emotional and mental lives of m ...
at the Palazzo Pissani during the
Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...
. For the show, he 3D scanned himself and presented a series of sculptures.


Campaigning

Lismore is an active campaigner and is an ambassador of the climate change charity
Cool Earth Cool Earth is an international NGO that funds Indigenous communities to protect endangered rainforests in order to combat the climate crisis and protect ecosystems. The charity is associated with long term partnerships with Indigenous villages, ...
. He has worked closely with
Vivienne Westwood Dame Vivienne Isabel Westwood (; 8 April 1941 – 29 December 2022) was an English fashion designer and businesswoman, largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream. In 2022, ''Sky Arts'' ranked her the ...
on her Climate Revolution projects and also undertook voluntary work for the charity Icross and NWI in
Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
. In 2016, he was the face of H&M's ''"Close the Loop"'' Campaign to help encourage recycling of clothes. Lismore's personal wardrobe archive spans highlight his commitment to
sustainable fashion Sustainable fashion is a term describing efforts within the fashion industry to reduce its environmental impacts, protect workers producing garments and uphold animal welfare. Sustainability in fashion encompasses a wide range of factors, incl ...
. In 2016, Lismore caused a stir when a controversial photograph of him, taken beside the British
UKIP The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member ...
politician
Nigel Farage Nigel Paul Farage ( ; born 3 April 1964) is a British politician and broadcaster who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Clacton (UK Parliament constituency), Clacton and Leader of Reform UK since 20 ...
was published on
The Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free of charge in London, England. It is print ...
. In the photo, Lismore can be seen with a word of "four little letters" (''beginning with 'c) written on his right hand, which is pointing at the politician.


Publications

In 2016, Skira Rizzoli Publications in New York published the first monograph of his work, ''Be yourself; everyone else is already taken''. Contributors include Stephen Fry, Hilary Alexander, Debbie Harry, Matt Lucas, Edward Enninful, Stefano Pilati, Boy George, and Vivienne Westwood. The book was launched at the opening of the show at
Art Basel Art Basel is a for-profit, privately owned and managed, international art fair staged annually in Basel (Switzerland), Miami Beach (US), Hong Kong and Paris. Art Basel provides a platform for galleries to show and sell their work to buyers, an ...
in Miami, United States in December 2016. In June 2017, to celebrate the book's publication in the UK, he was invited by The
Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...
to present a talk in conversation with eminent fashion editor
Hilary Alexander Hilary Alexander (5 February 1946 – 5 February 2023) was a New Zealand-born British journalist and past fashion director of the ''Daily Telegraph''. She was twice named Journalist of the Year (1997 and 2003) in the British Fashion Awards. S ...
to discuss the subject of personal identity and style today.CNN Fashion

''Victoria and Albert Museum'', 4 June 2017. Retrieved on 31 January 2019


Awards

In October 2016, Lismore became a public ambassador for the
Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...
. In 2017, Lismore was listed in ''Out Magazines "Out 100" alongside
Stephen Fry Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He came to prominence as a member of the comic act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in ''A Bit of ...
and was listed #80 in the Top 100 of The Guardian's Pride Power List 2018, 2021 & 2022.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lismore, Daniel British fashion designers Living people 1984 births