A biography for Ozwald Boatenghasn’t been written yet.
“I'm not into street clothes. Don't understand it. I don't understand those over-exaggerated jean sizes so they hang off your back... I just don't understand it.”
“Shirt collars are very important to me. Putting a very soft shirt collar with a formal suit doesn't work for me at all.”
“Film has always been a really good tool for me to communicate emotion about why I create a collection. I'm probably one of the first designers to make short films.”
“When I started, department stores were either very fashion, or very tailored, so the two never mixed. 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.”
“You come to me and it's my job to make you look the best you can look. From an image point of view, would I prefer to dress Jude Law instead of Rolf Harris? Of course. But it's my job to make them both look great.”
“If you're a designer, there's got to be some films that you've seen that have inspired you creatively. There's no escaping that.”
“In Los Angeles, I'm always in Fred Segal. It's become a ritual. I have lunch and then buy lots of things I don't need. Usually tons of clothes for the kids that they grow out of in 10 seconds.”
“Film is such a very good tool for communicating emotions, and all designers and creative people look to inspire an emotional response.”
“I'm ready to do womenswear. You've always got to be inspired by something new - women have so much more shape and I'm about finding what to engineer around those shapes.”
“Because I'm a designer, I'm quite good when I shop. I know what I'm looking for.”
“I had a suit made for me when I was five. It was double-breasted, mohair and purple. My mother was very particular about clothing - it always used to have to go back into the plastic and it used to drive me insane.”
“I love Coco de Mer.”
“If I'm going to do something, I'm going to do it well. That's just my character, that's just the way it is with me.”
“Anyone can wear any color. The question is about finding the right shade. There is a momentary trend to dark colors because when the financials are not that great, people go for black, navy and grey.”
“When things happen - you ask yourself why today, why not tomorrow, why not yesterday? That's the most amazing thing about time.”
“My wife and I have a tradition of popcorn and videos with our kids on Friday evenings.”
“I'm doing a lot of things in Africa. I've formed a company with two friends of mine called Made In Africa and we are doing a lot of important things across the continent.”
“I have my fashion empire to build.”
“Tailoring was considered to be a world that was very traditional, and basically going out of fashion. Fashion designers did not have a real link with tailoring or tradition, so I fused the two worlds together.”
“I haven't been to a job interview since I was 16 years old. When I was approached by Givenchy it was more like a courtship.”