Samuel Ross is back in the fashion game. His intention is to rewrite its rules. But first, here’s the summary.
It’s been a little over six months since Ross announced the outright sale of its first brand, A-Cold-Wall, to its long-time partner and incubator Tomorrow Ltd. As Virgil Abloh’s very first intern, this laser-focused young Brit had spent a decade building both a business and a reputation for rigorous industrial abstract streetwear. Of course, by the time he pulled off that successful exit from A-Cold-Wall earlier this year, he already had his next play lined up.
This lookbook represents the first hand of that piece. SR_A stands for Samuel Ross Atelier. SR_A was founded five years ago, but until now – while A-Cold-Wall was still on its desk – it has studiously avoided clothing. Instead, Ross’s own name has developed long-term, multi-year partnerships with companies like LVMH (Hublot), Apple (Beats), and Nike, and also served as a home base for his sculptural furniture design (which has been featured at venues like White Cube) . As Yi Ng, co-founder and CEO of SR_A, said: “We want to provide 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, Abloh predicted: “[Streetwear is] I’m dying, you know? Time will be up. How many more T-shirts can we imagine, how many hoodies, how many sneakers?”
That leads to a question that this collection answers, the result of 18 months of development by Ross. He said: “The whole proposition of the Atelier line is that it is small quantities and the outerwear is made to order. This is due to production time and to ensure that the intricate details in the garment are retained. We strive for a new model that is equally focused on brands, crafts and workshops.” Both the luxury-ification of streetwear and the rise of mass-tige over the past decade have been, according to Ross, “very successful experiments. But they have also eroded a generation’s appreciation for craft and the principles of luxury.”
These clothes are for those who have matured beyond the more childish stuff of streetwear – and who no longer enjoy sitting on fifty printed Gildan hoodies – but whose essential aesthetic remains true. Every London-cut, Italian-vegetarian tanned leather tab on every sashiko-stitched garment in every carefully considered weight of terry cloth is signed by hand. Each prize is equally carefully balanced to ensure a fair distribution of profits to the British studios and artisans with whom Ross works.