Samuel Ross is back in the fashion game. His intention is to rewrite its rules. But first, here’s the recap.
It’s just over six months since Ross announced the outright sale of his first brand, A-Cold-Wall, to his longtime partner and incubator Tomorrow Ltd. As “Virgil Abloh’s first-ever intern,” this laser-focused young Brit had during a decade built both a business and a reputation for rigorously industrial-abstract streetwear. Naturally, by the time he executed that successful exit from A-Cold-Wall earlier this year he had already laid out his next play.
This lookbook represents that play’s first hand. SR_A stands for Samuel Ross Atelier. SR_A was founded five years ago, but until now—while A-Cold-Wall was still on his desk—it studiously steered clear of clothing. Instead, Ross’s own-name entity has developed rolling, multi-year partnerships with companies including LVMH (Hublot), Apple (Beats), and Nike, as well as acting as a home for his sculptural furniture design (which has been shown at venues including White Cube). As Yi Ng, co-founder and CEO of SR_A said: “We want to offer a perspective on the generational shift in value, mediating between modernity and heritage for the post-streetwear consumer.”
Post-streetwear, eh? In 2019, the year SR_A was founded, Virgil Abloh predicted: “[Streetwear is] gonna die, you know? Like, it’s time will be up. In my mind, how many more t-shirts can we own, how many more hoodies, how many sneakers?”
Which leads to a question to which this collection frames an answer, and which is the result of 18 months of development by Ross. He said: “The whole proposition of the Atelier line is that it’s small quantities, and the outerwear is made to order. This is down to production time, and to ensure the intricate details are kept in the garment. We are pursuing a new model that is focused equally on brand, craft, and ateliers.” Both the luxurification of streetwear and the rise of mass-tige over the last decade have, added Ross, “been very successful experiments. But they have also eroded the appreciation for craft and the principles of luxury of a generation.”
These clothes are for those who have matured beyond streetwear’s more childish things—and who no longer relish sitting on 50 printed Gildan hoodies—but whose core essential aesthetic remains true. Every London-cut, Italian-veg-tanned leather tab on every sashiko stitched garment in every painstakingly considered weight of terry is hand-signed. Every price is just as carefully balanced in order to deliver an equitable split of profit to the UK-based ateliers and artisans with whom Ross is partnering.
