Savile Row had dressed kings and generals for two centuries. In 1995 a young Ghanaian-British tailor opened a shop at its southern end and filled the window with suits in electric blue, purple and orange. Ozwald Boateng became the youngest tailor to set up shop on the Row, and he changed what a British suit could look like.
North London
Boateng was born in Haringey, north London, to Ghanaian parents. He became interested in clothes and tailoring as a young man in London.
Early work
He started designing while still a student and sold his first collection in his teens. In the early 1990s he opened a studio and presented collections in Paris, becoming one of the first tailors to show at Paris Fashion Week.
Savile Row
In 1995 he opened his boutique on Vigo Street, at the end of Savile Row. In 2002 he moved fully onto the Row. His suits combined traditional tailoring techniques with slim cuts and bright colours, a contrast to the Row’s sober greys and navies.
Givenchy
In 2003, Boateng was appointed creative director of menswear at the French fashion house Givenchy, a major step for a British tailor.
Celebrities
His clients have included film stars and musicians, and his suits have appeared on red carpets around the world. Hollywood actors and sports stars have worn his designs at premieres and award ceremonies.
OBE
In 2006, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to the fashion industry.
Africa
Boateng has spoken often about his African heritage and about wanting to help develop fashion and manufacturing in Africa. He has worked on projects aimed at dressing Africa’s leaders and building African fashion businesses.
Influence
Many younger designers of African heritage cite Boateng as proof that they could enter the most traditional corners of the fashion industry. His success on Savile Row opened a door that had been closed to most Black designers.
Bespoke tailoring
Savile Row is famous for bespoke tailoring, in which a suit is cut and sewn by hand for an individual customer after several fittings. The process can take weeks and costs a great deal. Boateng trained in these techniques and combined them with a modern eye for colour and silhouette. His slim, sharply cut suits were seen as a contrast to the boxier traditional styles on the street, and many younger customers came to Savile Row because of him.
A family business
Boateng’s company runs as a tailoring house with a shop, workrooms and a ready-to-wear line. Like other Savile Row houses, it depends on loyal customers who return for new suits over many years.
A street famous for grey flannel now remembers the year a Ghanaian-British tailor hung a purple suit in the window and dared customers to walk in.
