"We have to learn to wait" - designer Ozwald Boateng's vision of an eco-friendly fashion business

The fashion business needs to get closer to its clients if it is to become environmentally sustainable, celebrated designer Ozwald Boateng says.

Boateng says the industry is structured to be wasteful - and that cultural change is needed.

"If I want to attract you as a client, I'm going to have 10 different sizes. How many colours to get that one or two purchases from you? If I knew what you wanted from the start, then I wouldn't have to create so much. It could be more focused. And so the way the business works has to change. I think we have to get into a culture of learning to wait," he told Euronews's Jane Witherspoon.

Boateng's latest collection Black A.I. represents a new departure for a man who made his name in top-end menswear: it's unisex.

He's been in Dubai to launch it, and that's where Euronews's Jane Witherspoon caught up with him.

Jane Witherspoon: Great to have you here. Why unisex and why now?

Ozwald Boateng: Well, that's quite an interesting question, actually. I did this show a few years back in 2019, I did this huge show at the Harlem Apollo. And I've been designing menswear, as you know, for quite a while.

JW: 25 years.

OB: 25 plus, more than 25 years. Anyway, my daughter’s always been complaining I've not been making much for her, always for her younger brother. And so I decided that I was going to do some things for women.

What was interesting was when I was doing the show, I created this collection with a few pieces of women's wear in it, and then I realised that my menswear was also working well for the women as well. And so that's how I ended up finding myself in this world of almost genderless clothing.

JW: You hit London back with a bang after a 12-year hiatus, didn't you? You showcased at London Fashion