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I’m surprised to see that there isn’t much information readily available about Ozwald Boateng on the net. That is partly the reason for the title I chose.

Ozwald Boateng a British Menswear designer who is well known in London, but has yet to catch on as a mainstream designer in the US even with efforts of the House of Boateng an eight-episode documentary series that followed him as he tried to open a flagship store in the United States and aired on the Sundance Channel.

Born in 1968 a modern day bespoke tailor born in Ghana and brought up in the streets of London. Son of Kweshi (a school teacher) and mother Mary Boateng. Ozwald began tailoring at the age of 16 selling his mothers designs.

Being a tailor and star fashion designer wasn’t always in Boateng’s life plan he went to college for computer science where he later was inspired by his girlfriend who asked him to make clothes for a fashion show at London Technical College..when he honestly replied I don’t know how to make clothes, but she taught him. Sewing clothing became secondhand to Ozwald and from there he began to create custom clothing for himself that many of his colleagues took a liking too. He switched his major to Fashion Design when he attended Southgate College.

His career began as a tailor and he later began to show his collection in runway shows in the late 1990’s. By the time he was 18, Boateng’s clothes were selling at stores in the King’s Road section of Chelsea, and in 1993 he opened a store on Portobello Road a very trendy street in London. His true calling was creating custom/bespoke suits for men.

In 1995 he opened a store just off of famed street Saville Row on Vigo Street for a more retail venture and later his ready to wear counterpart was selling in high fashion stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Barney’s New York in the United States.

Accomplishments:

• At the age of 30 he was the youngest tailor and first black designer to open a shop in the Savile Row area.
• In 2003 he was made creative director of menswear at Givenchy.
• He was recently named one of the 100 Great Black Britons by The Voice and the Greater London Authority
• Attracted attention for becoming the first ever British tailor to stage a fashion show

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