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Fashion
Top Tailor With Designs On The World
DO polish your shoes, wear well-ironed shirts, show a bit of shirt cuff from
under your jacket. DON’T wear ill-fitting suits, shirts without boned collars,
or trousers with turn-ups.
That is, if you want to be seen as a smart and sophisticated man-about-town.
The style advice comes from designer Ozwald Boateng who, as the man of the
moment on London’s fashion scene, knows what he is talking about.
A picture of tasteful elegance, Boateng, who is 36 and was born in Ghana, has
been designing and selling clothes for men for two decades. It could be said
that he “made it to the very top” when, in 1992, he opened a couture shop on
London’s Savile Row, the hallowed home of quality British tailoring.
His shop is surrounded on all sides by tailors of world renown, with histories
dating from hundreds of years. Ede and Ravenscroft, for example, was established
in 1689 and is the oldest bespoke tailors in London; Gieves and Hawkes,
established in 1786, but innovative and in tune with fashion changes; Henry
Poole, a Royal favourite, and the highly respected Huntsman and Sons (1849).
Boateng, whose client list teems with well-known names from the entertainment
industry (Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Keanu Reeves are among them), has been
credited with introducing Savile Row tailoring to a new customer base. And in a
recent survey he received a further accolade when he was named as one of the
best tailors on Savile Row.
With his star steeply in the ascendant, the designer has now set his sights on
expansion - into different areas of fashion, as well as into other countries. In
a recent interview he said: “I’ve been working really hard for 20 years to build
up the business and now I think it is my time.”
His first step is his men’s casual wear range that is about to be introduced
into high-street shops in the United Kingdom through a licensing agreement with
fashion group Marchpole. A busy few months lie ahead this autumn, when be
becomes the first Savile Row tailor to open a place on New York’s Madison
Avenue, where many top designer stores such as DKNY, Calvin Klein, Georgio
Armani, Valentino and Prada are located. At the same time, he plans to launch a
perfume collection, before introducing a new womenswear collection in 2004. A
huge retail shop in Moscow is also scheduled for next year.
Ozwald Boateng’s suits are immediately distinguishable by their immaculate,
traditional English tailoring - brought up to date with a sharp, modern look,
and the interesting range of colours, some quite unusual and daring, used for
both suits and linings.
The first Savile Row tailor to show his collection on the catwalk at Paris
Fashion Week (in 1994), Boateng’s talent later won him the French Trophee de la
Mode for best male designer.
High-street shoppers who want to follow Boateng’s good grooming tips are given a
head start via a diffusion range of jackets, trousers, sweaters and tops, called
O-Z, at Debenhams, the high-street department store chain.
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