Ozwald Boateng: From reviving Savile Row to dressing Burna Boy for the Met Gala

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Wedaeli Chibelushi

BBC News

Getty Images Ozwald Boateng stands on the left of a trio, with his two children, in a white suit and cape at the Met Gala. In the centre is his son, in a grey suit, and on the right, in white, is his daughter. Celebrities can be seen mingling in the background. — Ozwald Boateng (L), used to be at this month’s Met Gala, along with his son (C), Oscar, and daughter (R), Emilia

Ozwald Boateng, celebrating 4 a long time of constructing his indelible mark at the type trade, were given his likelihood to stamp his taste at the Met Gala in New York previous this month.

The esteemed British-Ghanaian dressmaker for the primary time dressed celebrities – together with 3 of Africa’s greatest musicians, Tems, Burna Boy and Arya Starr, in addition to actors Ncuti Gatwa and Jaden Smith – at what’s noticed as his trade’s greatest night time of the yr.

The theme – Superfine: Tailoring Black Style – used to be “completely in my wheelhouse”, he says, because it regarded on the method that taste shaped black identities.

Given that he already has a strong legacy within the design international, the 58-year-old noticed the chance to seek out contemporary adherents to the Boateng glance.

“I think it’s, in a way, communicating to a new audience,” he tells the BBC a couple of days after the exhibit.

Throughout his 40 years in type, the dressmaker has constructed a name for difficult the norms of fellows’s tailoring. His eponymous logo sells form-fitting, fashionable fits, steadily accented with daring colors and West African-inspired patterns.

The son of Ghanaian immigrants, Boateng reimagined the rustic’s iconic kente fabric to supply his signature “tribal” development.

“It’s all about having a strong concept, having a thorough idea of what you want to achieve from the textiles,” he says.

The Met Gala completely matched his outlook. “Being a theme about black culture and black cultural influence, I mean, how can you do that without Africa?” he asks.

Actors Ncuti Gatwa (L) and Jaden Smith (R) had been each dressed through Ozwald Boateng for the Met Gala

Getty Images A composite of two pictures from the Met Gala. On the left is Ncuti Gatwa where a black shirt under a purple suit. On the right is Jaden Smith wearing a black suit and a black and white cloak. — Actors Ncuti Gatwa (L) and Jaden Smith (R) had been each dressed through Ozwald Boateng for the Met Gala

Considering the hyperlink to Ghana, Boateng explains: “When we were colonised by the Europeans or the Brits, we kept our traditional dress, but tailoring was a big part of how we dressed to look more… effectively more European.

“My father at all times wore adapted fits. You needed to be sensible all the time, that used to be one thing I used to be taught.”

As if producing outfits for 16 celebrities for fashion’s premier event was not stressful enough, Boateng switched up Burna Boy’s outfit less than 24 hours before the event.

“We did his becoming rather actually the night time prior to the Met Gala,” Boateng says, adding that everyone in the room got “in point of fact excited” when they saw the Grammy-award winning musician in the finished product.

Burna Boy was pleased with his Met Gala look

Getty Images Burna Boy poses on the Met Gala red carpet, wearing the suit and cape Ozwald Boateng made for him — Burna Boy was pleased with his Met Gala look

The look – a red suit paired with a buttercup yellow shirt and eel-skin cape – was partly inspired by Burna Boy’s Nigerian roots.

The musician told Vogue: “As a waterside pikin [Pidgin for “child”] from the Niger Delta, the eel and fish normally are the lifeblood of my folks – they symbolise survival, spirit and the float of custom via generations.”

Afrobeats star Tems was among those who wore Boateng creations at this year’s Met Gala

Getty Images Tems poses at the Met Gala, wearing a blue and green patterned dress — Afrobeats star Tems was among those who wore Boateng creations at this year’s Met Gala

The Met Gala used to be “no longer extraordinary”, Boateng says, explaining that Africa has been part of his “message” throughout his career.

Back in 1995, Boateng was the first black designer to open a shop on Savile Row, a London street famed for fine tailoring.

“When I first began as a dressmaker, Savile as a side road used to be a death side road,” Boateng recalls.

“The idea, it used to be death. I successfully moved there within the early 90s and breathed new existence into it.”

Boateng used to be dubbed the “peacock of Savile Row” – with his flamboyance, 6ft-something frame and modelesque facial features, he stood out among his neighbours.

Colour and flair had long been part of Boateng’s psyche. At five years old his favourite outfit was a purple, mohair suit made by his mother, who was a seamstress.

Young Boateng commandeered his mother’s sewing machine and although he initially chose to study computing at college, he switched to fashion after realising menswear was his future.

As a teenager, Boateng was greatly inspired by tailoring titan Giorgio Armani – and decades later, Armani would praise the London designer for his “magnificence” and “innovative” designs.

Boateng has spent the last 40 years making his mark on the British fashion industry

Getty Images A composite picture of three images of Ozwald Boateng at different stages of his career. One on the left where he is wearing an orange suit, one in the middle in a woven, patterned overcoat and one on the right in a purple suit — Boateng has spent the last 40 years making his mark on the British fashion industry

Boateng opened his first studio in his early 20s, dressing the likes of Mick Jagger, Jimmy Paige and Spike Lee.

He then opened his Savile Row store – at the age of 28 he was the youngest to ever do so.

The burgeoning designer captivated London’s fashion scene initially, but in 1998 he went bankrupt when an economic downturn in east Asia scuppered a major order.

Both his professional and personal life descended into disarray – in just 12 months an entire collection was stolen from his studio and his marriage broke down.

But the peacock strutted his way back. Boateng gradually rebuilt his business and in 2002 moved into bigger premises on Savile Row.

Since then, he has served as Givency’s creative director for menswear, been awarded an OBE, designed staff uniforms for British Airways and branched out into womenswear.

While racking up professional and charitable commitments, Boateng was raising two children.

Now adults, Oscar and Emilia Boateng accompanied their father to the Met Gala, dressed in the suits that made their surname one of the most famous in contemporary British tailoring.

They are not, however, keen to follow their father into fashion design.

“I’m looking to slowly however certainly seduce them into the trend trade,” Boateng jokes.

“It is in the end their determination to come to a decision what they would like from their existence. If they to find one thing they are in some way I’ve, I’m glad.”

And what is next for his own passion? Boateng might have a brain brimming with concepts, but he has a clear vision of where he wants his brand to go next.

“The long run is enlargement,” he says, “elevating capital to in point of fact, in point of fact push the logo globally”.

“I believe it is the second in time – and it is the proper second.”