Meet Designer Ozwald Boateng
“Style is an extension of yourself. My approach is to enhance the personality of the wearer, so he has his own voice”
Ozwald Boateng was born in 1968 in London, England to Ghanaian immigrant parents. Back in Ghana his mother had worked in the fabric business and took in custom work as a seamstress in England. At the age of 5, Boateng’s mother made him a purple mohair suit that quickly became his favorite outfit. At 16, Boateng began dating a girl he met at a London technical college, she showed him how to sew and make clothes. Soon after Boateng had switched his major from computer science to fashion design at Southgate College. From then on Boateng had become obsessed with design, devising a signature fusion of traditional tailoring with exotically colorful fabrics.
“When I started they said you’re too tailored for fashion and to fashion for tailoring. So I had to move the market”
At the age of 23, he started his own business of making custom suits.
Ozwald Boateng with Diddy
Over the next few years, he developed his design philosophy. In 1994, he was the first tailor to present a collection on the Paris catwalk. At the end of 1994, he opened his first store on Vigo Street, in central London, and became the youngest and first black tailor to have a store on the row.
Over the past two decades, Boateng has reinterpreted the British art of custom-tailoring. His traditional craftsmanship and innovation are cornerstones of his iconic contemporary twist, refining fabrics, and contemporary silhouettes, offering a unique luxury experience to men of all generations.