You Need To Know-Designer Ozwald Boateng.Ozwald Boateng OBE is a fashion designer. He was born in Ghana in the late 1960s and brought up in north London. While studying computing at Southwark College, he was introduced to cutting and designing clothes by his then girlfriend. With the help of his mother, who was an excellent seamstress, he started selling his mother's designs to passersby along Portobello Road. At age 23, disillusioned with a mundane job in IT, he set up on his own full-time. He began making bespoke suits in 1990 and is widely credited with introducing Savile Row tailoring to a new generation. Boateng's many clients include Will Smith, Laurence Fishburne, Jamie Foxx, Samuel L. Jackson, Russell Crowe, Keanu Reeves, and Mick Jagger.
Entering Savile Row
May 2002 saw the launch of Boateng's spectacular company headquarters in Savile Row. To celebrate this, along with the Queen's Golden Jubilee, Boateng closed down Savile Row for a breathtaking event. Over 100 metres of marquee erected down the middle of the street and 1500 stellar guests were treated to a spectacular fashion show. The groundbreaking event was covered by the media around the globe and was feted as one of the most impressive of the year. Mayor Ken Livingstone credited Boateng with making a vital contribution to the promotion of creative talents in the capital. This was the first time Savile Row has been shut down since The Beatles performed their last public concert on the roof of their offices in the late 1960s. To this day, Boateng remains one of the most vocal and passionate supporters of Savile Row tailoring, and this passion lies at the heart of his work.
In addition to his much sought-after bespoke service, for which he continually updates his extensive range of fabrics and silk linings, Boateng also produces two ready-to-wear collections a year, which are sold internationally and through his flagship store and are shown to critical acclaim each season during the Menswear Collections in Milan.
Through his attention to cut, detail, sharp tailoring, and innovative use of colour, Boateng has received many awards and appointments in the last decade. In 2002 he was invited by the Bundes President of Germany to put on a fashion show in aid of charity, at his residence in Berlin, the Schloss Bellvue. Media coverage of the event was nationwide.
Ozwald Boateng and Givenchy
The President of LVMH Bernard Arnault handpicked Ozwald in 2003 and appointed him as Creative Director of Menswear at the celebrated French Fashion house Givenchy – one of the jewels in the LVMH crown, to bring his unique brand of Savile row tradition and contemporary design to this French menswear brand. His first hugely successful collection for this historic Parisian house was shown in July 2004 in Paris, at Hotel de Ville. Boateng parted with Givenchy after the Spring 2007 collection.
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