At last night’s Met Gala, designers from all different backgrounds and brands presented their sartorial take on the Costume Institute’s “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” theme. While many sought to spin their signature silhouettes into suiting-adjacent outfits or reimagine dandyism through non-traditional garments, Ozwald Boateng didn’t have to venture far beyond his typical work.

“A friend of mine [told me about the theme] and explained it,” Boateng tells Fashionista. “He was like, ‘That’s basically you.'”

Boateng is a model example of who this year’s exhibit is celebrating. In 1995, the designer opened his first store on Savile Row, making him the first Black tailor with an eponymous brand to do so. Beyond his self-taught skills and impeccably made pieces, Boateng breathed fresh air into the London menswear scene with his use of bold colors, intricate patterns and modern shapes inspired by his Ghanaian heritage.

Over the years, Boateng has been responsible for made-to-measure suits worn by stars including Spike Lee, Will Smith and Mick Jagger. He’s designed select costumes for the 2018 “Black Panther” film and, in 2019, staged a fashion show at the famed Apollo Theater celebrating “authentic identity” rooted in African design and the Harlem Renaissance.

“The theme of the Met was [a lot like] my show, so I had this interesting moment of realization [when I found out the theme],” Boateng says. “I said to myself, if there was ever a time I was going to be at the Met, this would be the time.”

Rather than simply dressing a few attendees, Boateng took things 10 steps further and purchased a table at the event — which has a reported price tag of around $350,000. “It’s not a light thing,” he explains. “It’s historical [being] a Black-owned, independent brand in a position to do that. It’s important that I demonstrate what I do and use my designs as a vehicle for a much bigger message. I never create without purpose or meaning.”

Boateng invited and dressed Burna Boy, Issa Rae, Jaden Smith, Arya Starr, Tems, Ncuti Gatwa, Colin Kaepernick, Henry Golding, Hope Smith and Omar Sy. And though his roster was stacked with impressive celebs, the true guests of honor were Boateng’s children.

“If you are ever going to build anything, if you’re not building it for your kids, then [what are you building for]? What’s so beautiful is that they are here to share this moment with me,” the designer explains. “My daughter is the reason why I’m in womenswear. She complained that her brother was getting everything and she was getting nothing. So I decided, when she was 17, I was going to create a piece for her.”

Though Boateng has been designing women’s clothing since his daughter asked him to in 2018, his main focus remains on menswear and suiting. For Issa Rae, that translated into a classic long, silk jacquard tailored three-piece pantsuit. Ayra Starr and Tems took the more feminine approach, wearing a black, deep-cut tuxedo gown and a royal blue dress shirt-turned-ballgown, respectively. 

“I liked the idea of this exploration into what a tailored dress could look like,” Boateng says. “I just enjoyed playing because there’s so much freedom in womenswear. The restrictions and rules are so limitless in the way menswear has some restrictions. Womenswear, though, is this really interesting space to create in because it quite literally can do it all.”

As for the color palettes of his designs, it all ties back to his roots in Africa. “There’s a fabric called Kente cloth that I’ve featured. It’s typically multicolored, but I’ve done it as a straight color but kept its vibrancy,” he says. “Even when fabrics are black or white or even silver, it still dances and moves the same way a jewel tone does.”

That unique, rhythmic quality to his work is what’s kept Boateng in the menswear business for over the last 40 years — a milestone that seamlessly coincided with this year’s perfectly aligned Met Gals.

Reflecting on his journey to this moment, Boateng shares, “When I started in the game way back when, I asked the question, ‘How long does it take to build a luxury brand? The answer I got back was to look at the big luxury houses, which took around 60 to 100 years. I said, ‘I can’t wait that long.’ Cut to 40 years later, I think my brand has arrived at that point. The key is, I’ve been able to be consistent in playing the game and staying independent, putting me in a position to have a table. I think that positioning is an important, bold message — to be out here and say, ‘It can be done.'”

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