California Apparel News

Waraire Boswell was driven to design, in part, out of necessity.

The 6-foot-7-inch designer, tired of wearing pants that were too large for his athletic frame, searched for years for a menswear line that suited his needs and design sensibilities.

“I tried shopping at stores like [Rochester] Big & Tall, but the clothes aren’t designed for tall guys that are athletic and slim—they’re for large men,” Boswell explained. “And Banana Republic’s clothes have great sleeve lengths but are too boxy.”

These days, Boswell is wearing his own designs, which he produces under the WB Waraire Boswell Collection label. The nearly 3-year-old line is a mixture of better casual and business attire, including woven shirts, wool blazers and trousers, and denim jackets and trousers. Sizes range from SML to 2XL.

Boswell, who designs his apparel out of a studio apartment in downtown Los Angeles, is mostly inspired by designer fashion from the United Kingdom and Italy.

Currently, he purchases fabrics from textile mills in London, Italy and Korea and hires local contractors to cut and sew.

Boswell’s style is clean and sharp. He is constantly pushing the envelope with his use of colors and prints and is always looking for ways to make his collection stand out.

There’s also a bit of whimsy to his design. Case in point: The designer chose an Irish terrier as the mascot for his collection.

“His name is Mordecai, and I used to own him,” Boswell explained. “That is, until he ate my shoes and my sweaters and soiled all over my apartment.”

Although Mordecai is no longer living with Boswell, his memory still lingers throughout the collection’s dressy looks, such as multicolored striped shirts with contrast French cuffs, pinstriped wool trousers with green side-zipper detail and an oak-brown corduroy sports jacket with green top-stitching and multicolor buttons.

For wovens, he chose a palette of lavender, navy blue, olive, cream, sky blue, purple, dark denim and black. Plaids come in sky blue and yellow with purple embroidery and in coral and blue with olive embroidery. “A lot of men are more open to adding more color to their wardrobes as opposed to sticking with the usual shades of gray, black and white,” Boswell said.

The line also offers casual pieces, including a black dress shirt with an Irish terrier silkscreen and 12.5-ounce mechanical- wash denim. French phrases are embroidered in tiny print on different parts of the woven shirts. Translations include: “Back Seam Stitch,” “Zipper underneath placket section,” “The Collar” and “Pay Attention to Detail.”

“It’s for the fashion impaired,” Boswell joked. “I want to describe what a shirt’s functions are and do it in a foreign language.”

The collection’s wholesale price points range from $60 for mechanical denim to $425 for a wool sports jacket. Embroidered dress shirts start at $65.

Boswell’s brand of urbane apparel with flair is popular among celebrities, including Andre 3000, Colin Farrell and Leonardo Di- Caprio.

Boswell predicts sales will top off at $250,000 this year with his Los Angeles retail accounts, including Lisa Klein Men, Satine in West Hollywood, Wolf in Venice and Planet Blue in Malibu. His plan is to build a strong account base in Southern California before he expands nationally.

Politics aside

The 28-year-old designer grew up in Altadena, Calif., and studied African history at California State University, Northridge. After college, he got a job at a talent agency, where he passed time by reading glossy fashion magazines. Boswell decided to launch his own apparel line almost three years ago.

“If I feel strongly about a design, then I’ll make it a part of my collection,” he explained. During a recent interview, Boswell wore a rust-colored athletic zip-front jacket with wool stripes and a silk-screen image of Patrice Lumumba, the assassinated Congolese nationalist who has become a martyr for third-world liberation groups. Boswell insists his apparel designs are not political, but he described his work ethic as relentless, tenacious and uncompromising.

“I’m socially aware, but there’s no political message behind my designs,” he said. “I’m here to inject African attributes into fashion without using a fist symbol.”

Boswell eventually plans to put his money behind his politics, however. He hopes to one day use a portion of his company’s earnings to open a youth center for troubled teens near downtown Los Angeles.

In the meantime, the designer is concentrating his efforts on his business—and how to tailor his designs to the right audience.

“This piece I would probably sell to a specialty retailer,” he said, tugging on the collar of his silk-screened jacket, “or tone it down [by removing the screen print] for a mass retailer.”