Samuel Ross (born 1991) is a British product and

fashion design Fashion design is the Art (skill), art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction and natural beauty to clothing and its Fashion accessory, accessories. It is influenced by culture and different trends, and has varied over time and plac ...

er,

creative director A creative director (or creative supervisor) is a person who makes high-level creative decisions and, with those decisions, oversees the creation of creative assets such as advertisements, products, events, or logos. Creative director positions ar ...

and

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...

. He is known for founding the fashion label A-COLD-WALL* and working with brands such as

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

Hublot Hublot () is a Swiss luxury watchmaker founded in 1980 by Italian Carlo Crocco. The company operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of the French luxury conglomerate LVMH. History A scion of the Italian Binda Group dynasty, best known for mak ...

Off-White Shades of white are colors that differ only slightly from pure white. Variations of white include what are commonly termed off-white colors, which may be considered part of a neutral color scheme or yellow that looks like brown. In color theo ...

, Oakley,

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine given ...

, and

Barney's Barneys New York Inc. is an American luxury brand founded in New York City in 1923. It has introduced major designers including Armani, Azzedine Alaïa, Comme des Garçons, Christian Louboutin, and Ermenegildo Zegna to the US market. Barneys Ne ...

Early life and education

Ross was born in the

Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...

neighbourhood of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

to second generation

Windrush Windrush may refer to: Places in England * Windrush Square, precinct in south London * River Windrush, a river in Gloucestershire * Windrush, Gloucestershire, a village in Gloucestershire ** RAF Windrush, a Royal Air Force station in World War II ...

parents of

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

descent. Shortly after his birth he moved to Northamptonshire, United Kingdom. He attended and graduated from

de Montfort University De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) is a public university in the city of Leicester, England. It was established in accordance with the Further and Higher Education Act in 1992 as a degree awarding body. The name De Montfort University was tak ...

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

where he received

first class honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...

for a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

Graphic Design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art whose activity consists in projecting visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdiscipli ...

and

Illustration An illustration is a decoration, interpretation or visual explanation of a text, concept or process, designed for integration in print and digital published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, vid ...

and was awarded the FSG design award in 2012.

Career

After graduating from university, Ross worked as a graphic product designer for Wilkinson and

Beko Beko ( ; stylized as beko) is a Turkish major appliance and consumer electronics brand of Arçelik A.Ş. controlled by Koç Holding. History Beko Elektronik A.Ş. was founded by Vehbi Koç, the founder of Koç Holding (who also founded Arç ...

. He went on to intern for and subsequently work with luxury streetwear label Off-White after reaching out to the label's founder

Virgil Abloh Virgil Abloh (; September 30, 1980 – November 28, 2021) was an American fashion designer and entrepreneur. He was the artistic director of Louis Vuitton's menswear collection beginning in 2018, and was given increased creative responsibilitie ...

, who became Ross's mentor. During his time working for Abloh, Ross also designed for

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

's creative content company

Donda ''Donda'' is the tenth studio album by American rapper Kanye West, released through GOOD Music on August 29, 2021, with distribution handled by Def Jam Recordings, his last release with the label. West recorded much of the material at multiple ...

. He founded the fashion label A-COLD-WALL* in 2015. Through A-COLD-WALL*, Ross has collaborated with

Converse Converse may refer to: Mathematics and logic * Converse (logic), the result of reversing the two parts of a definite or implicational statement ** Converse implication, the converse of a material implication ** Converse nonimplication, a logical c ...

Dr Martens Dr. Martens, also commonly known as Doc Martens, Docs or DMs, is a German-founded British footwear and clothing brand, headquartered in Wollaston, Northamptonshire, Wollaston in the Wellingborough (district), Wellingborough district of Northamp ...

, Timberland,

Mackintosh The Mackintosh or raincoat (abbreviated as mac) is a form of waterproof raincoat, first sold in 1824, made of rubberised fabric. The Mackintosh is named after its Scottish inventor Charles Macintosh, although many writers added a letter ''k' ...

, Aqua di Parma,

Kohler Kohler is a surname of German origin. The name was first found in Saxony. It means, "charcoal burner" so the first "Kohlers" were most likely of that occupation. Notable people with the surname include: *Alan Kohler, Australian journalist *Anton ...

, and Diesel’s Red Tag. As of 2020, Ross is a brand ambassador for

. “This relationship from the very beginning with Hublot was about redefining how designers and artists and creative directors work with the luxury sector beyond the traditional collaboration model,” said Ross in an interview with HYPEBEAST. He featured prominently in Apple's ''Behind the Mac'' campaign. Ross launched SR_A (Samuel Ross & Associates) at the Hublot Prize exhibition in the Serpentine Gallery in 2019. SR_A is a studio operating within the fields of luxury industrial design, interior installation, architecture, furniture design, sound design and sculptural/visual communication. In 2020 Ross established the Black British Artist Grants programme. Each year the scheme offers 10 bursaries of £2,500 to the selected applicants from across a range of art and design disciplines. Past recipients of the award include designer

Mac Collins Michael Allen "Mac" Collins (October 15, 1944 – November 20, 2018) was an American businessman and politician. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1993 to 2005, representing (previously from 1993 to ...

, photographer Ronan Mckenzie, and architect Dominique PetiteFrère. In 2022 the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

(V&A) held an exhibition titled ''Fashion design: Samuel Ross / A-COLD-WALL''*, and in 2023 Ross exhibited his paintings and sculptures in a solo show titled ''Land'' at the

White Cube White Cube is a contemporary art gallery founded by Jay Jopling in London in 1993. The gallery has two branches in London: White Cube Mason's Yard in central London and White Cube Bermondsey in South East London; White Cube Hong Kong, in Centra ...

gallery in London, as well as ''Coarse'', and exhibition of sculptural pieces that was his second solo show at the Freidman Benda gallery in New York. His work was also included in the exhibition ''Mirror Mirror: Reflections on Design at Chatsworth'' at

Chatsworth House Chatsworth House is a stately home in the Derbyshire Dales, north-east of Bakewell and west of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, Chesterfield, England. The seat of the Duke of Devonshire, it has belonged to the House of Cavendish, Cavendish family sin ...

, curated by

Glenn Adamson Glenn Adamson (born 1972) is an American curator, author, and historian whose research and work focuses on the intersections of design, craft, and contemporary art. Adamson is currently editor-at-large of The Magazine Antiques, editor of Journal o ...

. Examples of Ross's work are held in the collections of museums such as the

Dallas Museum of Art The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) is an art museum located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, along Woodall Rodgers Freeway between St. Paul and Harwood. In the 1970s, the museum moved from its previous location in Fair Park to the Art ...

and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, and the V&A in London. Apple hired Ross for the newly created role of "Principal Design Consultant for Beats" in 2023.

Awards and honours

Ross is the recipient of the 2018 British Fashion Award for Emerging Menswear Designer, the 2019 Hublot Design Prize, Forbes 30 under 30 Europe, the 2020 GQ USA Fashion Award and the 2020 People of the Year British Fashion Award for his philanthropic endeavours. He received an honorary doctorate from The University of Westminster in 2021. Ross is a recipient of a 2021 British Fashion Award, within the category 'Leaders of Change'.

References

External links

* *
Architectural Fashion Design
' brief documentary interview by Carlos Jimenez for the

(V&A) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Samuel 1991 births Living people Alumni of De Montfort University British artists British fashion designers British furniture designers Creative directors Industrial design