Brands of Tomorrow: A-COLD-WALL*

Streetwear and experimentation are the key-words of the emerging brand A-COLD-WALL* who, in the last few months, has gained more and more visibility and public approval.

Last week the UK brand has announced the opening of a new pop-up shop in London – from May 20 to May 21 – of which we know very little about it, except for the vague details that have been revealed on Instagram, surprising all the fans. The enthusiasm for the news doesn't surprise, considering that A-COLD-WALL*, over the years, has been able to build a solid image of itself and consolidate its name as a synonym of quality and innovation. But let's go back. 

How did A-COLD-WALL* start? You must thank Samuel Ross who in 2015 founded his personal brand after attended the De Montfort University College in Leicester and a long list of experiences as graphic designer and illustrator, but 2013 is the turning point for Ross. In April of that year, the 20-something-years-old designer met Virgil Abloh, who immediately took the guy under his wing and hired him as an assistant. 

“Virgil thought my work was good because there was a multi-faceted language that I was working in, from illustration and graphic design, to film and product design. I was accumulating all these different avenues into this unconscious zeitgeist moment”

Ross explained during an interview for BoF.

In the following years, Ross has followed Virgil Abloh around the world, learning the trade secrets and working on many creative projects, until 2015 when he decided to found his own fashion label, A-COLD-WALL*.

Last January A-COLD-WALL* debuted during the London Fashion Week Men by showing its Fall 2017 collection. It was a full immersion into Samuel Ross's creative world: deconstructed outerwear, jackets and (few) dresses were recreated with an industrial attitude, while the synthetic fabrics and the shiny, metallic-like surfaces reflected the urban, underground mood of the collection, declined with a neutral colors palette – excepting for the red and orange details in contrast. The pieces are curated in every detail, creating an innovative streetwear collection, far from the typical standards, in which the sartorial quality meets the most interesting trends of the moment. 

Not only this, the Fall 2017 collection has also unveiled the collaboration between A-COLD-WALL* and NikeLab. It was a series of Special Field Air Force 1 sneakers with total-white upper, light gray details and brands logo printed on the tongue. A collaboration who has definitively launched A-COLD-WALL* in the worldwide spotlights. 

The Fall 2017 collection seems to have all the strong points of A-COLD-WALL*. The streetwear attitude is mixed with the refinement of the design and the selection of the fabrics, who give the brand an intellectual-creative allure – going beyond the seasonal trends. Also, the new SS2017 RESET collection is the confirmation of this stylistic way of the brand who continues to capture people's attention.  

Samuel Ross's creative ability in various areas has also been proved by the collaboration with the artist Jobe Burns – with which he launched the Concrete Objects project.

“Concrete Objects is a collaborative project between the two of us combining both opinions and preferences through conversations in person, which in turn result into products. We’re working through the traditional process of putting pen to paper and taking time to revise designs, releasing when they’re ready as opposed to through a strict algorithm — than just primarily homewares cast from concrete, also utilising copper & iron”

Samuel Ross explained.

Samuel Ross's multi-faceted creativity, who emerges even from his clothes, is surely the key to A-COLD-WALL*'s success, which is able to make people charmed by catchy items, but fitted with a "conceptual aura" who makes them timeless. 

And today? We just have to wait for the opening of the London pop-up shop of A-COLD-WALL* to have the latest proof of the success of the brand, a name you should remember because it will give us many cool surprises in the future.