Boateng made his name as a menswear designer back in , when at 27 he became both the youngest and first black tailor to open a store on Savile Row.
Born in to Ghanaian immigrants, he had grown up in working-class north London, learned to sew at 14 from a girlfriend, commandeered his mother's sewing machine and became obsessed with design, devising a signature fusion of traditional tailoring with exotically colourful fabrics, unmistakable even to an eye as undiscerning as mine. The stylist of choice for new Labour's elite, he was quickly back in business following the bankruptcy, served as creative director of Paris couture house Givenchy from to , and was awarded an OBE in Extraordinarily striking, tall and powerfully built, he moves with the confidence and grace of an athlete, as if accustomed to commanding attention with physical charisma alone.
If the option of feigning oblivion to his own beauty has ever crossed his mind — which I'd guess was unlikely — it was evidently ruled out, for Boateng's office has the feel of a lair and the look of a shrine, dominated by a gigantic, gilt-framed oil portrait, and lined with photographs of the only menswear designer who could plausibly be mistaken for one of his own catwalk models.
His voice is smoothly modulated, the accent less urban today than when the film opens, and more distinguished, though he can still switch from boardroom to street idiom with ease.
His Savile Row store, which is directly above his basement office, is a high-concept statement of forbidding, matt-black glass where assistants glide weightlessly with that hushed blend of reverence and hauteur unique to high fashion. It makes the rest of Savile Row look like a 19th-century dressing-up box for members of the House of Lords up to town from Gloucestershire.
I mixed it, and they said you're too tailored for fashion and too fashion for tailoring. So I had to move the market. So that's what I did. So I was very unique. And then everyone looked, and said, do you know what, that makes sense, it really makes sense. Now, if you look at men's fashion, it's completely different. That's what everyone does now. When A Man's Story opens 14 years ago, however, Boateng's business had gone bust, so I ask why he agreed to be filmed.
This guy was supposed to film me round one fashion show. And it was supposed to last a month. And he said, 'You know what, I'll just film you. Boateng comes across on film as someone who considers the permanent presence of a camera a fitting signifier of his status, so I ask if he enjoyed it.
So it's by some strange default that it happens. It began at a particular moment in my life, and maybe it was a little bit of therapy for myself, because, you know, things are really rough, this is bad. So maybe just being able to talk it out was a good way of being able to deal with some issues. Everything I'd put my hand to worked.
So when it went wrong, I thought, well, I'll start again really quickly. And then I had the shock of the experience of it not being that easy. And actually, if I'd known it was going to be that difficult, I'd probably have done something else. Cos it was hard. Really hard.
I couldn't get money from the bank, even getting a bank account was really, really hard. I'd assumed I'd get support from the industry, and when I didn't get it, it was a real wake-up. I wonder if the industry felt he'd gone too far too fast, or even that a young black man with no formal training in tailoring had no business being on Savile Row. When you're in that situation, you don't want to take on that thinking, because then you're really stuffed.
So I didn't allow myself to go deep into it. In fact, Boateng points out, most designers can expect to go bust at least once or twice in their career. Even Vivienne Westwood or Paul Smith, he says, didn't truly understand the commercial side of their profession until they were in their 50s, a flair for design seldom coming with a shrewd head for business.
So Boateng clawed his way back, learned the business, and even designed an affordable line for the high street — o-z for Debenhams — that offended every fibre of his being.
It's a tricky decision not to do it again, because I could make my life a hell of a lot easier by doing it again. There's not many CEOs of big luxury goods companies having that amount of knowledge.
It's a particular skill of understanding production. Boateng strikes me as someone who would hate to work for anyone else, and the film seems to imply that the demands of designing for Givenchy cost him his second marriage, to a Russian model with whom he has a daughter and son, Emilia, 12, and Oscar, six.
That's just my character, that's just the way it is with me. His second wife is an important presence in the film, and their marriage ends as the film draws to a close, so I wonder if she had any say over this painfully intimate record of their relationship. Celebrating since its foundation on Bond Street, and years in its Savile Row abode in , Huntsman has announced a new approach to its famed tailoring, entitled Bespoke The new offering differentiates itself from the original, so forth known as Bespoke , in two aspects: cutters use Huntsman proprietary AI algorithms to assist hand-drawn patterns, saving precious time spent; certain aspects of the basic sewing process are outsourced to select and vetted craftsman, reducing both wait time and costs and avoiding bottleneck at the London atelier.
Riding the wave of Colin Firth's Kingsman cinema franchise , the brand is thoroughly contemporary by Savile Row standards. The grandaddy of them all, but don't let that intimidate you. You don't have to be an ex-ruler of state or an army general; so long as you appreciate fine British tailoring, Henry Poole's doors are open to all.
The oldest tailor on the street, opening their doors in , Henry Poole is often credited as the 'founder of The Row. Their ethos, both past and present, is that they are not dictated by fashion.
Adhering to a balance of posture, size of build, and proportion of figuration the way you stand, shoulder slope etc , the key consideration for them is balance in proportion to the stature and figure of the individual, and not passing fashions. Throughout a client's bespoke journey, which usually takes up to 12 weeks, there is opportunity to interact with your cutter, coat maker and trouser cutter, all under the gentle guidance of your master tailor.
May I ask which way one dresses, sir? Known for : Inventing the dinner jacket; creating a quintessentially British style suit; an obsession with balance; jacket buttons strategically placed to moderate the torso; trousers cut on waist - not the hips - giving the impression of long legs; adhering to the naturalness of form. Depending on the build of a client, tailors will structure suit to enhance the figure, and minimise flaws.
Their tailors frequently travel abroad for consultations. Morgan, General de Gaulle, David Gandy pictured above. If you aren't in the mood for a suit, it's well worth browsing Hackett's Mayfair and London collections and retreating to the delightful club room at the back of the premises.
The Duke is more of a classic cut, boasting a firm chest canvas and roped shoulders, while comfort is key for the Windsor, blending lightweight canvassing with a softer shoulder. Jeremy can usually be found wearing the latter — double breasted, of course. When Ozwald Boateng came on the scene in the 90s, he caused quite a stir. The first black man to open his own store on The Row in , he formed part of the 'New Bespoke Movement' of British tailors, including Richard James and Timothy Everest, who at the time were celebrated for reviving The Row's elitist image.
His silhouetted suits may have made the more dogmatic of tailors gasp yet his suits were being seen on red carpets from L. Cool Britannia was in full swing, and wearing a crimson Boateng suit delivered the playful braggadocio that said 'move over chaps, this is what British tailoring looks like.
Known for : mixing fashion and tailoring; contemporary, modern British style; very slim silhouette by British standards; streamlined and very slim lapels; bold and inventive use of colours and fabrics; crisp and minimal house style; strong architectural lines; streamlined ties.
Recent collections have been strongly inspired by African, particularly Ghanaian, use of colour and fabrics. Arriving from Trinidad at the age of 17, Andrew Ramroop the only tailor on The Row to be awarded an OBE came from humble beginnings but always had a passion for making clothes. He was hired and fired on the same day by Anthony Sinclair creator of Sean Connery's Conduit Cut suit after a white English candidate walked in 20 minutes after him. Luckily, Huntsman decided to take him on, where he learned some tricks of the trade.
However, he was determined not to remain in the workroom and so undertook a course at the London College of Fashion. Upon finishing he worked for Maurice Sedwell and found himself tailoring to most of Margaret Thatcher's cabinet. What to expect: Quality off-the-rack suiting at affordable prices they do not do bespoke or made-to-measure services. While the cut is on the more structured and traditional end of the spectrum they also opt for a single-button jacket , a William Hunt suit often features a unique silk lining, printed with vibrant or unusual patterns and motifs.
You can hand-pick your own with the made-to-measure service, making this the clear winner for budding rock-stars. What to expect: Savile Row tailoring that comes with a personal twist.
Fancy learning the craft? Maurice arrived on the Row in , after a stint on Fleet Street. A very recent, highly anticipated opening.
What to expect: All your preppy essentials, from rowing blazers to knitted ties. This is a no-nonsense, professional service, with suits cut to the specific order of each client and a journey that begins with selecting cloth, suit-style, and your own personal features. What to expect: A service — and suit — that is as personal and classy as it is comfortable. Hallowed ground as far as Savile Row is concerned. Henry Poole opened its doors as far back as , and has been credited with such innovations as the Tuxedo.
What to expect: A strong but flattering cut that lengthens the legs, slims the torso and broadens the shoulders. One of the longest established tailoring houses on Savile Row years in , Norton and Sons was also among the earliest to encourage a more unique clientele. Aside from lords and politicians, explorers bound for the East and Africa shopped here, thanks to its expertise in lightweight clothing.
Today, much of its forward-thinking spirit remains, now that homegrown design talent Patrick Grant has taken the helm. What to expect: British, British, British, from cloths to cuts to clientele.
At every cultural crossroads, there is a man wearing a Huntsman suit. From the Twenties and the Sixties to today its shopfront was used in the recent Kingsman movies , Huntsman has managed to attract both rebels and royals of any age, and in equal measure. Since moving to Savile Row in , the house cut has become one of the most coveted in the world: including a padded shoulder; high armhole; and one-button jacket. What to expect: One of the more structured and traditional fits in the area, with a strong riding heritage hence its unrivalled range of tweed.
If you are seeking out a distinctive style, look no further than Chittleborough and Morgan. Nutter veterans Joe Morgan and Roy Chittleborough continued the legacy when they opened up their own house in This is a powerful look, with a heavy shoulder, wide, curved lapels, and a longer jacket.
It was become the suit of choice for British rock stars, seen on the likes of The Beatles the Abbey Road cover and Mick Jagger for his wedding with Bianca , and retains that swinging, Sixties cool today. What to expect: A lot of presence. This is a suit for frontmen, not wallflowers. Richard Anderson rose to the rank of head cutter at Huntsman before setting off to start his own house in Like most new openings, he sought to create a modern environment.
Each tailor specialises in one individual part of your suit, meaning that complete focus is given to each element.
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