38 Quotes by Ozwald Boateng

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.

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.

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.

Because I’m a designer, I’m quite good when I shop. I know what I’m looking for.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.