CAUCUS

A polymathic creative force, Hublot Award-winning British designer, creative director and artist, Dr. Samuel Ross, deftly mines the cross-sections of socio-geographic relationships, enlisting rhizomatic micro and macro references in the formulation of his works. Navigating themes located in anthropology, sociographic tendencies and 20th– 21st Century industrialized societies, Ross’ output offers a commentary on equality, engagement and collective experience. At the nexus of these concerns lies a continuous relationship with civility, and the civic duty of not only the artist, but design, itself. Born in Brixton in 1991, Samuel Ross graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design and Illustration at De Montfort University, Leicester. Upon graduation, Ross embarked on a career as a product designer, working for a number of high-profile brands, advertising agencies and industrial design practices, while concurrently focusing on his own creative endeavors spanning experimental film, street art and garment design. He soon transitioned into fashion, working for Virgil Abloh; first as Virgil’s First Assistant for Design, encompassing OFF-WHITE and various installations, then subsequently with Kanye West’s creative content agency, DONDA. In 2015, at just 25-years-old, Ross self-funded his label, A-COLD-WALL*– renowned for its material investigation and innovation, married with incisive explorations of Brutalist and abstract forms and precise execution. Emblematic of Ross’ expansive creative scope, each A-COLD-WALL* collection is launched in unison with ambitious performance and installation art elements. Through this holistically pioneering approach, Ross’ ACOLD-WALL* is credited as redefining the parameters of streetwear and high fashion. Ross’ accolades include being named the British Fashion Awards’ Emerging Menswear Designer (2018) and receiving the Hublot Design Prize (2019). In 2020, he was named as one of Forbes’ 30 under 30 [Europe] and won both the GQ USA Fashion Award and People of the Year British Fashion Award, the latter specifically for his philanthropic endeavors. He has also been a finalist for both the LVMH Prize and ANDAM Award. He has collaborated with brands, including Converse, Dr Marten’s, Mercedes-Benz, Nike, and Oakley,as well as noteworthy artists Virgil Abloh, Daniel Arsham, Futuraand Takashi Murakami. Specific SR_A partnerships include those with Apple, Beats, Nike, Medicom, Hublot LVMH, Kohler, and Acqua Di Parma. Ross’ work is in the collections of institutions such as Dallas Museum of Art, TX; the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, TX; and Victoria & Albert Museum, London. He recently had a solo fashion exhibition “Fashion design: Samuel Ross / A-COLD-WALL*” (2022) at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, and has participated in group exhibition “Mirror Mirror” (2023) at the Chatsworth House, Derbyshire. Ross lives and works in London, UK.