01:55 GMT 25th October 2010
You once said, ‘When I first started, my determination was my big asset.’ But determination to do or to be what?
When I started out, the designer I was inspired by was Giorgio Armani. And that was because he came to the business and revolutionised it. So at that point in time, suits were quite structured ’cause men in those days used to go and see their tailors.
Armani came in and basically said, ‘Look, I wanna create a new content to this concept of men’s clothes – you go into a store and you buy a piece and you get immediate satisfaction as opposed to waiting for a few weeks for a suit to be made.’
So the whole concept of ready-to-wear clothing at a designer level was born with Armani. And there were a couple of other brands that were doing something similar, but Armani was the one who was able to own the position.
Basically, what he did is he took the structure out of the suits, which made it easier to wear. And it became such a trend that it dominated menswear and became classic.
So when I came into the business, it was very clear that I had to bring something very unique to it. So I thought, ‘Well, if Armani’s taken the structure out, I’ll put the structure back in.’ And so that became my focus.
I was already creating this new cut, but I hadn’t understood the value of Savile Row [the Mayfair street famous for bespoke tailoring for centuries] until I came down and had a look ’cause a friend of mine told me, ‘You should go down to Saville Row ’cause what you’re doing is really linked to that,’ and I said, ‘Yeah, but it’s dotty old tailors. What do I wanna go there for?’ I was 18- 19 years old.
But anyway, I go. I run into a very famous tailor there called Tommy Nutter. I looked at one of his suits in the window and realised he was very close to how I saw where tailoring could go, but he still saw himself as a tailor. And for that reason, it restricted the potential of his voice. So I said, ‘Okay. You know what I’m gonna do? I’m gonna open the shop here and I’m gonna show all the tailors the potential of moving into fashion design.’ ’Cause effectively they’re not tailors, they’re really couture houses, and couture houses have much more of a bigger global footprint than a tailor.
As a tailor, you’re making suits for individuals. It’s very personal, but it’s a very corner shop perspective, yet something that could [become] a global perspective. So I realised that [I needed to set up a shop] and in the process of getting the shop, I decided that I needed to make tailoring fashionable. I already had a lot of media [attention] at that time, and I was already quite a known tailor/designer ’cause I sold collections to stores and I sold to individuals. But I knew that until I actually took that concept to Paris, which is the hub of fashion, I couldn’t spark off a significant global trend in tailoring. That’s when I did my catwalk show in ’94, and I went as a tailor.
At that point, in terms of English talent, there was only myself and Paul Smith. There was no one else. I went to Men’s Fashion Week... with a viewpoint to show a collection with no sales. So it was completely bucking the whole concept of creating a collection that the stores buy.
But what it did is to make everyone think about tailoring, and that transformed everything. I had all the designers coming to my store. They understood that what I created was a new platform for them, a whole new area that kinda got missed. And from there, I started to develop more and more of the name. But to own a position, you have to be very consistent and hopefully 25 years have allowed that.
So I knew as well that if I could have an impact on Saville Row, which has been around for centuries, there would be a much more significant cultural impact because I had taken something and breathed new life into it.
You were incredibly young to have that understanding. Do you think that you have a very strong business head on you or do you view yourself purely as a creative and that these things just happen?
Creative people are by nature visionary – especially in fashion – because we design a year in advance. So you’re always looking forward. If you create something unique, you want to own the uniqueness of what you’ve created. One of the early lessons you learn as a designer is believing in what you create. It’s part of you.
How have you adapted to the changing demands of the business, or your business and of your role in it?
What I really want to do mens’ and womenswear at stores – I’ve got a fantastic concept for women’s. I now really want to open stores globally. The world had better be ready.
And I’ve always had a big love for film, so I want to make movies. I’ve made quite a few short films.
Through that journey of understanding myself as a creator, understanding myself as a businessman, and that desire for film, I’ve always had an underlying desire to give something back home to Ghana. So I’ve created a company to do that.
Made in Africa?
Yeah, Made in Africa Trust, which basically is me using what I’ve learned and applying that to some of the issues that Africa has.
But do you have one eye on, ‘Hang on. I want Boateng to live beyond me?’
Absolutely. I’m definitely in that space. And I think that’s ultimately what it will become. To occupy a luxury position in the world of fashion is a very tough position to take, especially if you’re based in the UK.
The skinny tie is the thing, isn’t it?
It is [though] I do a wider blade, and there’s a choice. But it’s funny because what is now the trend in menswear is what it was always for me in the beginning. So it takes that sort of time to really become the norm. So what’s happened is that when I started, I was on the fringe, bringing in something creatively new yet had some historical significance. So a skinny tie now is not an unusual thing to see, but when I started it, it was.
Wikepedia has a list of famous people that you’ve dressed– Anthony Hopkins, Brad Pitt, Chris Rock, David Bowie, Forest Whitaker, Herbie Hancock, Jamie Foxx, Sir Mick Jagger, Pierce Brosnan, Richard Branson, the list goes on and on. These are people for whom image is absolutely critical. What would be, do you think, your rules for business success, if you want to look really sharp?
Having a suit that is as close to a tailored suit as possible is key ’cause it just defines the lines of your shape and the form of what you are. And it will tap into a part of yourself that will give you more confidence. The more you believe in it, the more everyone else does.
You’ve got the suit, you’ve got the shirt, you’ve got the tie and you’ve got the shoes, and all these tie into that story. So the more you’re clearer about that, the more confidence you give to the person who’s in front of you.
I’ve been told, on numerous occasions, stories about the first time someone’s worn one of my suits. It’s like, ‘I was going for this job, and I got the job.’ ‘I was getting married and it was a fantastic day of my life.’ The list goes on of the stories of ‘the first time I wore an Ozwald Boateng suit.’
You mentioned the Made in Africa Trust. Can you elaborate a little?
Let’s look at Africa. It controls 50 per cent of the world’s natural resources. How can it be poor? Clearly Africa isn’t getting real value. If that’s what tit’s getting now, if I could just get 5 per cent of the value, what effect would that be? How do you realise that value? And if you do, you wipe out the issue of poverty ‘cause you’ve got all the resources you need to change everything.
It’s sounds nice and simple. So how is it going?
Everyone basically agrees with the idea – of course, we’ve taken it down to a much simpler structure – of building a high-speed train rolling across Africa, linking it. By creating a high-speed rolling network across the continent you would address all these issues of value. Because the biggest issue is there’s no internal links on the continent. So that’s kind of the approach that we’ve taken, and we’ve got a very clear strategy and plan. We’re planning to do a pilot scheme in Ghana with a high-speed train, with backing from the Ghana government.
This is an transcript of Boateng’s interview with MeetTheBoss.TV
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