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Samuel Ross has always been a designer eager to push beyond the boundaries imposed by his own field. And in fashion, boundaries are many – and often imaginary. In the years following his departure from the never forgotten *A-Cold-Wall, the designer has taken his philosophy into fields ranging from watchmaking, through his collaboration with Hublot, to full-fledged design installations showcased at last year’s Milan Design Week, passing through the artistic direction of the London Design Biennale, the redesign of Beats by Dre, and consulting for Apple. Yet his latest and perhaps most ambitious effort is also the most noteworthy. As we mentioned, Ross loves to cross boundaries – or rather, to demonstrate their nonexistence – and the latest illusory limit he has chosen to dissolve is the division between the fashion and luxury markets. If luxury fashion is as mass-produced as fast fashion, is the idea of luxury a mirage? And can design find value in its ability to complement life, or is it merely a marker of social status? With his latest venture alongside Zara, Ross has posed these questions, effectively dismantling the distinction between what we define as fashion and the mass-market brands such as Zara, H&M, Uniqlo, or Gap, with which more and more institutional designers are collaborating: «What is a mass market brand? All notable companies have multiple stores in every key city around the world. We must look harder at reality now», he told us when discussing his latest collaboration, which came to life through his design studio.
«I live between craft, access and luxury.Without restraint, with total freedom», Ross explained, answering our questions with brief and concise concepts, perhaps extending his passion for extreme functionality and simplicity to the interview itself. The studio he founded, SR_A, where the first two letters are his initials and the “A” stands for “Atelier,” works across the full spectrum of creativity and design in a multidisciplinary way: art, furniture, industrial design, and, of course, clothing. The idea is to rethink the classic scope of a brand, shifting the focus from identity and logos to an approach and design philosophy that become the most authentic signature of his work. The SR_A Engineered by Zara project, which introduces a “clothing system” in the form of periodically released capsules, was created to bring this philosophy to a broader audience while also realizing what many designers consider a utopia: a genuinely creative line that can reach the widest possible market, integrating into people's lives worldwide without geographical or economic barriers. Of course, while maintaining that sense of authorship and elevation that distinguishes quality design, supported above all by thoughtful consideration. The first chapter of this collaboration is a men's capsule collection that will be presented through installations in Paris and New York before becoming available in Zara stores worldwide. «It is the first joint venture of its kind, in the world for Zara, with an independent designer», he explains. «As in the way our partnership is structured, and what our intent is. To a degree, it is the future».
His previous made-to-order garments from his SR_A studio usually focus on craftsmanship and individuality, but Zara’s mass production model requires a different approach, one that blends high design with accessibility. And while Zara is often synonymous with standardized design and mass distribution (but is fashion really so different?), Ross does not perceive a real distinction between the two models: «Both are built for society», he explained. «Our atelier exists to preserve and extend intense making techniques, to work with local ateliers across very specific ideas that carry a raw beauty». The focus on craftsmanship remains fundamental, but Ross also embraces the functionality and accessibility that come with a high-volume retailer like Zara: «Our access line is function. Moving between spaces with ease, without difficulty. It is concealment and peace», he adds, highlighting his desire for fashion to play a practical and functional role in people's daily lives. Ross drew inspiration from an idea of purity of lines that communicates both with historical archetypes of clothing and their more futuristic evolutions. And despite the differences between the more controlled model of SR_A and Zara’s rapid production, as he himself says: «There’s no challenge, only solutions and new ideas». This is a string of words with which Ross has chosen to define his “functional uniform”: «Ease. Comfort. Function. Respite. Access».
Balancing luxury with mass accessibility is a common dilemma for designers in collaborations like this, but Ross was as clear as he was concise in stating that there is little difference between the fashion market and mass retail: «Wholesale is a mass market. It’s all illusions and semantics». For Ross, the focus is more on the core values of passion, intent, and commitment to the project he is building. «I don’t worry about balance», he said, «I focus on new ideas and what is next. I focus on what is best for the brand world that we are building everyday. Every detail of it». Innovation is what Ross has in mind, and it passes both through the «culture and connection» of new digital technologies (although the designer did not elaborate on how exactly these technologies play a role in his production) and through a direct-to-consumer business model: « I am making a choice to prioritise direct-to-consumer mechanics», Ross said. «A focus on building a world. A unique one». Without, however, giving up on creating a complete and immersive experience. For Ross, for example, the process of creating a «special layer of retail», as he calls it, is crucial. In this regard, he cites SR_A’s collaboration with Dover Street Market, describing the importance of entering a «full world» where the overall coherence of the collection and its belonging to a unique aesthetic universe can emerge more clearly.
The rise of collaborations between designers and mass-market brands like Zara, Uniqlo, and Gap has been a defining trend in recent years. As more designers make the leap from high fashion to these collaborations, Ross sees it as a sign that the industry is evolving. «We are listening to the times. We can feel it. You can feel it», he explains. «Ideas should not be difficult to attain. Garments are for all of humanity, not a few. Pricing must be fair, ideas can be protected though lower quantities. Pricing should not always be barrier. We need harmony. I am focused on harmony». When it comes to creativity in these collaborations, Ross sees it as teamwork. «It’s a joint venture. They are very rare», he says, reflecting on the unique nature of his partnership with Zara, which is the first of its kind for the brand and could represent a step forward both in how mass-market companies collaborate with independent designers and in redefining the culture around clothing that ceases to be a social marker and whose value can be situated, without unnecessary snobbery, in functionality and an aesthetic appreciated as a value in itself. In this respect, Ross’s ambitions are as humanistic as they are humanitarian: «I am focused on society and humanity. Through Fashion. Through fine art. Through function. Through expression», indicating that his work will always have a greater purpose. As Ross continues to grow his project and collaborations with industry giants like Zara, traditional fashion, now in deep crisis, is proving that old hierarchies are no longer set in stone but float in a bubble where no meaning is fixed. We don’t know what the future holds, and perhaps Ross can only sense it, but in uncertainty, the two principles that will guide him, which he states unequivocally, couldn’t be clearer: «Raw beauty and precision»
CREDITS:
Photographer Eseniya Araslanova
MUAH Hiroshi Matsushita
Interview Lorenzo Salamone
Photographer Eseniya Araslanova
MUAH Hiroshi Matsushita
Interview Lorenzo Salamone