The designing flair of Ozwald Boateng: the British import is ready to put his mark on American style

Great Britain's biggest export since the Beatles is perhaps none other than a Black male fashion designer whose Bespoke Couture line is bewitching customers on both sides of the ocean.

Ozwald Boateng is ready to conquer America and, it seems, America is ready and willing to let him do so. Already well known in Europe for his sartorial splendor, Boateng, 39, is the renowned Saville Row tailor and creative director of menswear and haute couture house Givenchy. He has revolutionized the traditional perception of menswear in Europe with his unique blend of traditional excellence and cutting-edge modernity. His custom-made men's suits are found on celebrities like Will Smith, Mick Jagger, Keanu Reeves, Jude Law, Samuel L. Jackson and Jamie Foxx, whom he outfitted on the night he won the Academy Award for his role in the movie Ray. He also outfitted Foxx this year for the Academy Awards and, in addition, designed Foxx's suits for the movie Miami Vice.

Boateng is on a mission to launch his Bespoke Couture line in America and feels now is the time to open a flagship store here.

"To really succeed in America, America has got to want you to be here," he says. Animated and passionate when discussing design, Boateng feels it's all about fabric. He even created the term "Bespoke" in fashion to describe his own creative work. "Tailor was not enough to define what I do, so I had to create my own term," he says. Bespoke has evolved, he says, to mean quality and something made by hand. "It's what happens when you go to your tailor and you talk to him about getting a suit made; it's about design at the highest level."

In recent weeks, he has been scouting locations for stores in both Los Angeles and New York, and at press time had not confirmed his new location. That search was chronicled on the Sundance Channel last summer in the House of Boateng, an eight-part cable television series that followed the European designer's attempts to open a flagship store in America. Boateng says achieving success in America is the opposite of achieving success overseas. "In England you only get respect if you are consistent," he says. "In America, it's about opportunity. It's almost a certain anti-success in England, whereas in America it's like 'Go.' They want to push you forward. People encourage you to win."

It was Boateng's Ghanaian parents who encouraged his dreams. He was born and reared in North London, the youngest of three children. "My father was a teacher and headmaster, and he brought me up with the idea that there are no boundaries," he says. And Boateng certainly has followed his father's teaching, achieving great success in Europe by anyone's definition. Entirely self-taught, he was 28 years old, the youngest tailor-and the first Black--to open a shop on London's famed Saville Row. In 2003, he was appointed creative director of menswear at the French fashion house Givenchy, becoming the first Black designer to head a French couture house. In recognition of his various contributions, this year the Queen of England awarded him the prestigious Order of the British Empire.

Boateng currently has stores in England, Dubai, Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia. His suits range in price from $1,685 "off the peg" (ready to wear) and $7,500 (custom-made).

An elegant man with a svelte frame, Boateng could model his own line. Lounging in a suite at the exclusive Ritz-Carlton hotel in New York City, he is the height of cool in crisp white pants and a celadon green, open-necked shirt that highlights his smooth, dark brown skin tone. He is recognized for his use of bold colors for men and for his exquisitely tailored suits cut to reflect the personality, lifestyle and aspirations of the owner.

Robert Verdi, host of Fashion Police on the Style Network, had high praise for Boateng, telling a New York reporter: "He's suave without being slick, hand-some without being intimidating and hip without being desperate."

It's Boateng's hope to influence and expand American men's sense of fashion. Some critics have pointed out that Boateng's bright colors and slim-fit suits will be difficult to translate to older American men with large paunches and Brooks Brothers-blue tastes. But he is confident that he can design to suit the general physique of the American man. "I can make a suit for a table," he says laughing, indicating that his design and cutting (tailoring) skill can help. "I've got a way of knocking inches off the waistline from the way I cut."

Additionally, he says that hip-hop culture's influence in terms of color is huge, and that now there is an openness for brighter colors in men's fashions. He also adds that the right shade is very important in color. "There are thousands of different shades for every color; you have to understand which one is for you," he says, pointing out that he wants his new American retail outlets to foster that thought. "I want to make people aware of the importance of good tailoring and how you can combine those elements with a very modern way of coloring that is still incredibly masculine and sexy."