Designers - Nana Boateng

Fresh off of a plane from Como, Italy, Nana Boateng, the creative genius behind Akua Adoma, emailed me to setup a brief chat about life, fashion, and changing things up. The self-confessed workaholic, who has no formal training in fashion, has garnered attention from both industry insiders and Hollywood's elite alike. He boasts an impressive list of celebrity clients like David Beckham, Boris Becker, Djimon Hounsou, James Franco, and Boris Kodjoe, has had his garments featured in major publications including Essence and People, and is rumored to be romantically linked to Ugly Betty's Vanessa Williams. All of this, along with a relationship with Sony Pictures Entertainment that has Boateng doing costuming for major motion pictures as well as studio executives, and he's only 31. Born in Ghana, and raised in Europe, his life as a citizen of the word has greatly influenced his designs, from the exquisite tailoring of his garments to the rich colors and textures, its not hard to see why fashionable men would feel at home in these pieces. His inspiration comes not only from the national dress of various countries he's visited but also his family, in particular the suits he remembers his uncles wearing in his childhood. Unlike most designers who prepare for next season's shows almost a year in advance, Boateng assured me that most of his work is done on the plane as he travels from one point to another. He said "You can't force work. When inspiration doesn't find you, you have to find it." Along with seeking inspiration instead of waiting for it to come, he also attributes his success to being humble, respecting his past, and the ability to think out of the box and change things up, saying "When everyone goes left, I go right. Then when it works they'll be saying I changed history." This was the running them of our conversation, that and how being humble is the one thing that never goes out of style. He also alluded to whispers that he's trying to start a career in acting when telling me the best advice he's ever gotten, "Stay in your lane and see what windows start opening up. You see a lot of rappers getting into acting, like Common he's doing well because he did well in rapping first and now he's on billboards and in movies. You have to evolve in your field first then you can branch out to different things." In respect to his current career as a designer I did touch on the collection that he will be debuting in September at the FashionHow International Designers Show. Ever the creative thinker, when I asked what we can expect from your new collection he turned the question on me. "The answer to the unanswerable question." He responded, then asked me "What would impress you?" I, not expecting this turn, answered "Something new and unseen, that hasn't been done before." To which he replied "Very close to that." We ended our phone call by touching on Nana's personal style, which has landed him on The Sartorialist blog, by telling me that he doesn't have a favorite piece of clothing because it gets really boring and that you have to change things up to keep them interesting. Nana Boateng is definitely keeping things interesting and I can't wait to see what he changes he has in store for us next. By Anastassia Simon