MILAN, Jan 15, 2006/ FW/ --- Upbeat, bold and brassy, it wasn’t just the music that inspired such thoughts as the lights dimmed for the start of Ozwald Boateng’s latest eponymous collection but also the man himself.

Not known for excessive introversion, Boateng has a reputation for crafting exuberant tailoring for like-minded individuals but it has been questioned in the past just how easily his flamboyant style could be channeled to appeal to a wider market.

By finding equilibrium between his own natural enthusiasm and a more conventional elegance his manifest technical ability was put to the fore with what was a mature, well considered collection.

Taking traditional country sports for inspiration, rustic fabrics such as tweed, flannel and wool established a characteristically English tone with hound’s-tooth and Prince of Wales check present, drawing on a palette of purple, navy, brown and green.

While all of this may sound a little conservative there was no danger of Boateng ever totally abandoning the vibrant touch with which he made his name: oranges and turquoise were also evident – albeit in muted forms- but whereas before they may have colored entire outfits, here they were reserved for coat linings or to highlight a pocket detail and the collection was better for it.

The silhouettes were pure country gentleman with waistcoats covering checked shirts and complemented by vibrant neckties or perhaps a bow elsewhere. Trousers tucked into thick-knit woolen socks gave a golfing slant to the proceedings while woolen galoshes wouldn’t have looked out of place at a weekend shooting party.

As a Savile Row tailor however there is nothing that Boateng likes better than showing off the skills passed on to him in a tradition universally accepted as being the haute couture of menswear. The collection was rounded off therefore with a series of modern interpretations of the classic bespoke pieces with which the designer learnt his trade.

As the show drew to a close the looped sample of Winston Churchill’s famous wartime address resounded across the hall, “We will never surrender”.

For Boateng the significance was clear: compromise, maybe; surrender, no.