Ozwald Boateng

Ozwald Boateng, OBE (/ˈɒzwəld ˈboʊtɛŋ/) (born 28 February 1967) is a British fashion designer of Ghanaian descent, known for his trademark twist on classic British tailoring and bespoke style.

Ozwald Boateng

OBE
Ozwald Boateng, 2015
Born (1967-02-28) 28 February 1967
Muswell Hill, London, England
Label(s)
Ozwald Boateng
AwardsOBE

Early life

Boateng, whose parents emigrated from Ghana in the 1950s, was born on February 28, 1967 in Muswell Hill, North London.[1][2]

Boateng was inspired by the immaculate suits his father wore, and received his first suit from his mother aged eight: a double-breasted in purple mohair.[3] At fourteen, he found a summer job sewing linings into suits.[4]

Portrait photograph of Boateng

While studying computer science at Southgate College at age 16, he was introduced to cutting and designing by his girlfriend.[1][5] Using his mother's old sewing machine, he started designing and selling to his fellow students, and switched to graduate in fashion and design.[1]

Boateng helped a friend to make clothes for a fashion show, and after receiving praise for his work, sold his first collection to a menswear shop in Covent Garden. Some of his first pieces were also sold in Academy, Newburgh Street, in about 1987. This enabled him to open his first studio in Portobello Road in 1991. In 1994, Boateng staged his first catwalk presentation during Paris Fashion Week, the first tailor to stage a catwalk show in Paris.[5]

Career
Boateng's Flagship Store, No. 30 Savile Row

Mentored by Tommy Nutter, the success of the Paris show in 1994 enabled Boateng to open his boutique on Vigo Street, the south end of Savile Row, in 1995.[3][6]

Boateng's contemporary approach to menswear design helped to forge a new appreciation for Savile Row, and draw in a younger demographic.[7] Boateng's moved fully into Savile Row in June 2002.[8]

In 2005, Boateng was honoured with a major 20-year retrospective event at the Victoria and Albert Museum.[9]

In 2008, Boateng's new flagship store and headquarters are launched at No. 30 Savile Row, on the corner of Savile Row and Clifford Street. The largest store on this Mayfair street (as of November 2019), its signage and interiors were co-designed with British-Ghanaian Architect David Adjaye.[10] It remains the only Black-owned store on Savile Row (as of November 2019), and has since 2010 been managed by Moroccan-born Bespoke Manager, Khalid Fakhour.[11]

In 2003, Boateng launched a new gimmick in fragrances for women. Bespoke comprises two different vials of fragrance within an elongated, jewel-like bottle.[6]

Boateng's Show at London Fashion Week, 2010

In 2007, Boateng merged the corporate headquarters of his company with his redesigned flagship store on Savile Row.[12] Today, in addition to a bespoke service, Boateng also produces two ready-to-wear collections a year,[13] produced at the former Chester Barrie factory in Crewe, Cheshire.

Collaborations

LVMH President Bernard Arnault appointed Boateng Creative Director of Menswear at French Fashion house Givenchy.[14] In a 2019 interview with Icon Mann,"[15] Boateng reveals that back then his "challenge [had been] to reinvent the French gentleman," and that "he [had] succeeded in doing so."[16] His first collection was shown in July 2004 in Paris, at Hotel de Ville.[17] Boateng parted with Givenchy after the Spring 2007 collection.

In 2004, Coutts approached Boateng to design a new Super-Premium credit card. The Coutts 'World Credit Card' appears in Boateng's trademark imperial purple, designed to communicate a new modernity and supreme elegance.[18]

In 2004, Boateng designed new amenity kits for Virgin Atlantic's Upper Class. Critically claimed to be the most stylish first class kits available to travellers on any airline, the design increased pick rate fivefold.[19]

Boateng was commissioned by John Agyekum Kufuor, President of the Republic of Ghana, to design and orchestrate a show at the 9th Annual African Union summit in 2007. Held in Accra, it coincided with 200 years since the cessation of the transatlantic slave trade, and 50 years of independence for Ghana.[20]

In September 2018 British Airways confirmed that Boateng had been chosen as the designer for its new uniform, to be launched in 2019 as part of the organisation's centenary celebrations.[21] This appointment was a matter of controversy amongst customers of the airline and staff alike, who had come to believe that the new uniform would be designed in partnership with the British brand Burberry.[22]

Film and television

Boateng has designed bespoke costumes for films including: Mo' Better Blues, Hannibal, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Tomorrow Never Dies, Sex and the City, Ugly Betty, Eastern Promises, Gangster Number One, Alfie, Assault on Precinct 13, The Matrix, Miami Vice, Oceans 13, and Rush Hour 3.[23]

Director Varon Bonicos filmed Boateng between 1998 and 2010 for fly-on-the-wall feature documentary, A Man's Story, released in March 2012.

On 22 June 2006, the Sundance Channel and Reveille LLC released an eight-part real life documentary series called House of Boateng, tracking the journey of Boateng as he embarks on the expansion of his brand in the United States.[24] The series was produced by Robert Redford and Ben Silverman.

As well as design, Boateng has created and directed film projects of his own.

  • 1994: Debut Show – his first venture into film alongside his Paris Catwalk show, a short movie dramatising the events and struggles leading up to the show.
  • 2004: Arizona – First directorial debut, a short film entitled Catching Dreams, based in the Grand Canyon area. Shown at his debut show in Milan.[25]
  • 2004: Florence – A film released at the Pitti Imagine in Florence, chronicling the past 10 years of his life.[26]
  • 2004: Givenchy – a Japanese style manga style animation at his debut show as Creative Director for Givenchy.[27]
  • 2005: China – The short movie No Boundaries is filmed in the Guilin District of China. Shown at second show for Givenchy. It premieres at the Tremblant Film Festival in 2006, Canada, and comes second in the Short Film category.[28]
  • 2009: Why Style Matters – In collaboration with BBC4, a documentary on the significance of Savile Row in the 21st century and the renewed interest in Tailoring. Features Giorgio Armani.[29]
  • 2013: Our Future Made in Africa

Personal life

Divorced from his first wife Pascale, Boateng then married Azerbaijani model and former student of the London College of Fashion, Gyunel Taylor. The couple had two children, Emilia"[30] and Oscar, before divorcing in 2009.[31]

Boateng's mantra is "If you flow with history and don’t fight with it, eventually it becomes a dance."[16]

Philanthropic work

In 2008, Boateng was appointed to the REACH committee, as part of an independent panel to identify and recruit national role models who work to help raise aspirations of black boys.[32]

Boateng, alongside Kola Aluko in partnership with Atlantic Energy, founded Made in Africa Foundation, a UK non-profit organisation established to assist the development of the African continent, by providing first-stage funding for feasibility studies and business development of large-scale infrastructure projects based in the region. The foundation was established on the basis of “reframing the dialogue and perception of Africa”, with the principals signing an agreement with the African Development Bank."[16]

Featured as a 2018 special guest panelist at the London Business School African summit, addressing business on the continent, Boateng took part initialing a massive art collaboration Remember To Rise.[33][34]

Distinctions
gollark: Nonsense. Who would do such a thing?
gollark: Why did I get a random friend request from `deepbluesea`?
gollark: They have nonexistent invisible wings.
gollark: Putting them in hatcheries myself is really quite boring, so if the viewbombers could do it *for* me it'd be great.
gollark: Can I send some eggs I want viewbombed, viewbombers?

References
  1. "Ozwald Boateng". FMD. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  2. "Ozwald Boateng – IMDb". imdb.com. IMDb.
  3. "Ozwald Boateng". London Fashion Week. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  4. Liz Hoggard (25 February 2007). "Ozwald Boateng: The wizard of Oz". The Independent. London. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
  5. "Ozwald Boateng". 100 Great Black Britons. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  6. "Ozwald Boateng: The wizard of Oz". The Independent. London. 25 February 2007.
  7. Home – : London Development Agency Archived 18 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  8. Newstatesman, Lauren Booth, 10 June 2002
  9. London Skills and Employment Board – About – Members – Ozwald Boateng Archived 18 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  10. Adjaye, David. "Store Launch Article". 30 Savile Row. Archived from the original on 12 June 2011.
  11. "Khalid Fakhour - LinkedIn".
  12. Famous Designer opens new store in Savile Row » Local Government » 24dash.com Archived 13 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  13. Ozwald Boateng, Ozwald Boateng mens fashion show, fashion photography, Milan Fashion Week, mens fashion, wireless content
  14. Guyon, Janet (6 September 2004). "The Magic Touch LVMH chief Bernard Arnault runs dozens of luxury brands, from Moet & Chandon to Thomas Pink. But just one of them-- Louis Vuitton—brings in 60% of the conglomerate's profits. His challenge: to apply Vuitton's winning formula to the rest of the stable". CNN.
  15. "Icon Mann is a media, consulting, and heritage development enterprise, committed to positively transforming the dialogue and imaging of black males within the African Diaspora through content and community engagement".
  16. "In Conversation with Oswald Boateng - Designer and Co-Founder of Made In Africa Foundation". 9 March 2019.
  17. "Postcard From The Edge; A Wrap-Up of the Paris Runway Shows, Where Designers Continue To Push Men'S Wear in New Directions. – Daily News Record – Find Articles at Bnet.Com". Archived from the original on 18 June 2008.
  18. Guardian, by Martin Wainwright, November 2004
  19. Elle, March 2005, page 377
  20. Top African-American talent plan trip to African Union Summit, Ghana : Annansi Chronicles
  21. Airways, British. "BRITISH DESIGNER OZWALD BOATENG TO DESIGN NEW UNIFORMS FOR BRITISH AIRWAYS". mediacentre.britishairways.com. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  22. "REPORTS: British Airways Will Be Getting a New Uniform Next Year to Celebrate its 100th Anniversary". Paddle Your Own Kanoo. 5 March 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  23. Govindini Murty, Jason Apuzzo (3 November 2012). "A Conversation With Fashion Icon Ozwald Boateng on Style, Africa, and His New Film A Man's Story". The Huffington Post.
  24. Sundance Channel : Series : House of Boateng Archived 11 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  25. "Beauty Delux: homme et vous". Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  26. Imagine, Pitti. "Pitti Imagine". Short Film Presentation. Archived from the original on 9 September 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  27. Official Site, Givenchy. "Givenchy". Givenchy History. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  28. Movie Citation, IMDB. "IMDB Page". Reference to No Boundaries. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  29. Style Matters, Why. "BBC4". Documentary. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  30. "Emilia Boateng - Storm Management".
  31. Emma Jacobs (15 February 2012). "Tailor whose personal life came unstitched". Financial Times. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  32. A new generation of black role models – Hazel Blears responds to the Reach Report Archived 18 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  33. "Innovative Painting: Remember To Rise is an Olufeko and London Business School collabo endorsed by the noteworthy". Omenkaonline.com. 13 November 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  34. "Exciting times for business in Africa". London Business School. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
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