EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: 'Peacock of Savile Row' Ozwald Boateng's firm saddled by £1.6million of debt

Published: 23:13, 14 April 2026 | Updated: 23:16, 14 April 2026 His inventive eye has secured him the patronage of Sir Mick Jagger and Russell Crowe – and the role of designing costumes for any number of films, from Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels to Tomorrow Never Dies. So when Ozwald Boateng took New York's Met Gala by storm last year, producing no fewer than 16 outfits for those flaunting themselves at the shindig – including one for Will Smith's actor son, Jaden – he had every reason to be in a bullish mood. 'The future is expansion,' he reflected, explaining that he was intent on 'raising capital to really, really push the brand globally. I think it's the moment in time – and it's the right moment'. But such optimism seemingly failed to take into account the pitfalls awaiting those trading in Sir Keir Starmer's Britain – pitfalls made more treacherous still for those, like Boateng, who try to operate in London under Labour mayor Sir Sadiq Khan. Known as the 'Peacock of Savile Row' since opening a store in the fabled West End street aged only 28 – the youngest person ever to do so – Boateng, now 59, has seen one of his companies, Bespoke Couture Ltd, wound up by court order while owing creditors £1.6million. Now I can reveal that another, OBBCL Ltd, has also become the subject of a winding-up petition – this time brought by HMRC. Boateng's press representative declines to comment, but OBBCL's latest set of accounts records that it owes £86,000 in 'taxes and social security'. Fashion designer Ozwald Boateng has seen his one of his companies wound up by court order and another targeted by HMRC (Pictured at Downing Street in 2024 for London Fashion Week) Boateng, whose fledgling career was boosted at its outset by a grant from the Prince's Trust, has weathered savage storms before. In 1998, he went bankrupt after a major order fell through. This was the first event in a grim sequence during which an entire collection was stolen from his studio, followed by the collapse of his first marriage. Boateng subsequently married and divorced Azerbaijani model Gyunel Taylor, with whom he had children Emilia and Oscar. He also managed to stitch his business career back together. Let's hope he can repeat the trick to the satisfaction of the taxman. Peers have said goodbye to their chief clerk, Simon Burton, who has stepped down after five years in the job. The Earl of Kinnoull recalled that many moons ago, when Burton first became clerk to one of the House of Lords select committees, he was told by its chairman that he must not arrange meetings to be held on a Wednesday. The given – and incredibly important – reason was that 'you see, it ruins both weekends'.  Working from home appears to have its attractions for Suki Waterhouse – and those on the other end of her video calls! The model, pop singer and actress shared some photographs online of her working on her laptop while wearing only a pair of gold bikini bottoms. Suki Waterhouse, who is engaged to actor Robert Pattinson, shared a racy photo of her WFH setup 'Hot damn' is how the Daisy Jones & The Six star, 34, captioned her post – taking the words out of many a shocked mouth. It is unclear whether the racy snap was taken by her fiance, Twilight heart-throb Robert Pattinson, 39. He and fellow Londoner Suki have been together for seven years, reportedly living in a £4million mansion in LA. They have declined to confirm rumours that they recently married in secret. Actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers, who has openly battled alcoholism for years and says he is sober '95 per cent of the time', reveals he once lost out on a role in Oscar-winning Gosford Park after clashing with its late director, Robert Altman. 'I ended up having an argument with him when I was young. I think I said the wrong thing and missed out on doing Gosford Park,' admits Jonathan, 48. The 2001 country house murder mystery, written by Julian Fellowes, features a distinguished cast including Maggie Smith, Helen Mirren and Kristin Scott Thomas.  She left India for England in the name of love as Kate Sharma in Netflix's immensely popular costume drama Bridgerton. But in real life, Simone Ashley is seeking love in the US. British actress Simone Ashley (pictured in a Burberry print bikini and sarong) is loving her new life in New York 'I moved to New York last year,' reveals the actress, 31. 'I'm having the time of my life. I love it. It's changed my life.' She explains: 'At the moment, I'm dating. The plan is always to find love and have another great year in New York.' Simone, who can be seen wearing a signature Burberry print bikini and sarong in the label's latest advertising campaign, was previously in a three-year relationship with high-powered lawyer Constantin 'Tino' Klein. Commitment is now her top priority. 'I feel very ready for a relationship but I think it's about finding the right person,' she adds. 'I don't get into situationships because it's just a way to keep things vague. It's not my style and I haven't got time for that.'  Former Strictly Come Dancing professional Oti Mabuse says she has found her spiritual home in Ireland, where she's a judge on the Irish version of the show, Dancing With The Stars. And there's a particular reason why she feels so welcome. 'I love that I am allowed to be loud here,' says Oti, 35, who left Strictly as a professional dancer in 2022. 'When I got on the panel, I thought I was being loud and I was told, 'Yes, but we're all loud'. But that is something I've had in my life. 'Oh, she's too loud, she's too excitable'. But here they say, 'No Oti, be loud'.'  Amiable Eurovision Song Contest runner-up Sam Ryder has a hidden ruthless edge. 'I kidnapped someone once,' reveals the Space Man singer, 36, while referring to a Swedish tour promoter he codenames 'Andrew'. He explains: 'I was flown out to Texas. Show One happens and it's the tale as old as time – 'I can't pay you tonight'. We do the [second] show – he [still] doesn't pay us.' The troupe eventually discovered Andrew was moving to Nashville – and needed his passport to do so. As such, they took it. 'He had no choice but to come with us,' the star adds. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? 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