The Artivist
Daniel Lismore is a British fabric sculptor, designer, and activist. We caught up with Daniel over lockdown 3.0 to discover his thoughts on Pride celebrations post pandemic.
Interview by Sufiyeh Hadian, Images by Colin Gray 
Photography by Colin Gray
A prominent fixture on the London fashion and art circuits, Daniel is both a tastemaker and artist inspired by art in all its forms, combining multiple inspirations from around the world into vibrant expressions of cultural appreciation, rather than appropriation. Described as both a ‘living costume’ and ‘England's most eccentric dresser’ by Vogue, he is best known for his flamboyant dress sense serving a form of statement and sculpture. His elaborate and extravagant ensembles brilliantly combine haute couture with vintage fabrics, found objects, chainmail, ethnic jewellery, millinery and more in an expression of eccentric, creative energy, as seen in his book and 2017 exhibition ‘Be Yourself, Everyone is Already Taken’.
Why do you think it’s important to celebrate the individual sense of self?
My favourite quote is by Oscar Wilde; ‘Be yourself everyone else is already taken’, because it's true and I think you can waste a lot of time I'm trying to be like other people and it never ever works.
Did you ever struggle with identity? If so, how did you overcome it?
I've never struggled with my identity as such because I've always just believed in myself, but when other people struggle with my identity, I've learnt to realise that it’s their problem, not something I should take on or have to deal with.
Photography by Colin Gray
When did you discover your most authentic self?
I think I'm more myself when I go with my gut feeling and intuition. When situations arise, I believe that whatever your first instincts are, you should go with them.
Having worked with famous queer photographers such as Mert & Marcus, Steven Klein and David LaChapelle, how do you think LGBTQ+ representation has shaped the current landscape of fashion and art?
To be honest, the way the world is going right now in the fashion and art scene, there's a lot of representation, but I still don't believe there's enough. I think in the Western world, it’s prominent, but the queer voices from around the world have not been heard yet. There’s a few voices via the likes of Clubhouse, which is really opening people's minds to how we think critically, and personally I think in the UK, Europe and the US we really need to check ourselves.
“I personally think Clubhouse has been revolutionary for the queer community and the arts, we're hearing each other's voices for the first time.”
How have apps like Instagram live and Clubhouse been useful to you over lockdown?
I personally think Clubhouse has been revolutionary for the queer community and the arts, we're hearing each other's voices for the first time. I did a lot of public speaking and panel discussions via zooms to schools and organisations all over the world during lockdown.
Photography by Colin Gray
Photography by Colin Gray
How do you usually celebrate Pride month?
I've tried to help organisations in the past, which sadly never happened because they were really not interested in minorities at the time. I used to walk through the crowds and then stop off at The Groucho Club, a private members club in Soho, and see a few of my dear friends. Most of the celebrations for Pride are not really for me, I just wish there were more political because there is so much work yet to be done.
“Most of the celebrations for Pride are not really for me, I just wish there were more political because there is so much work yet to be done.”
Did Pride ever help to form your self-expression?
Possibly when I was 17 or 18, going to Birmingham Pride really opened my eyes to what it meant to be queer back then, but it's very different now and personally I've never seen myself represented in any celebrations that I've been to. I did a Pride video for Vogue in 2019 and I was asked when do you feel Pride? My answer was when the whole LGBTQIA+ community come together.
What has been your favourite artistic endeavour to date?
I think working with the English National Opera and Swarovski has been my favourite project so far; I created a really crazy show from a lucid dream for an opera that had not been performed since the ‘70s. It was three hours long and completely wacky, dark and emotional. I wanted to interpret this surreal aspect of our dreams and I think I managed to do it.
“I've been living as art since I was about 17 and have picked over 7000 pieces of clothing, jewellery etc from everywhere.”
Can you tell us more about the extravagant ensembles from your book and 2017 exhibition ‘Be Yourself, Everyone is Already Taken’?
I've been living as art since I was about 17 and have picked over 7000 pieces of clothing, jewellery etc from everywhere, as you can imagine. I created an exhibition that had everything in it and it started to tour around the world, first opening in Atlanta at Savannah college of art and design and I made the book with them published by Rizzoli. It's travelling again from next year.
What advice would you give to queer young people?
The best advice I could give a younger queer person would be to try to be as authentic as possible without putting yourself in danger, and if you are in danger try to move away. There's a crazy big world out there and there's a space for you. Sometimes we just need to create it for ourselves.
Photography by Colin Gray
Photography by Colin Gray
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