After selling A-Cold-Wall a year ago, Samuel Ross has been dedicating his time to his art practice and to SR_A, Samuel Ross Atelier, the cup into which he pours most of his design know-how these days. He’s also been traveling more, he said over the phone earlier this week. Not just physically, though there’s been some of that too, “but across industry.”
“I feel like I have lived more this past year,” Ross said, “but traveling from high design to fine arts, public installation, and luxury has made me see how fundamental clothing is to how people feel.” This evolved mindset has shifted the way Ross sees his place as a maker: “There is no greater maturity an artist can propose than to really start thinking about collective society and how to benefit it as an artist and designer,” he said, resolutely.
Which brings us to today: Ross is releasing the first “chapter” of an ongoing partnership with Zara. “Collab just sounded too crass,” he said. The goal is to build on this capsule moving forward, ideally with a seasonal cadence (as in twice yearly). “SR_A Engineered by Zara” will become the second part of Ross’s SR_A project: “The first one is the atelier line, with garments made in Italy and in the UK, which is done with Dover Street Market, and the second is this accessible line,” which he is calling “Samuel Ross Access.” The idea, as Ross put it, is to leverage the capacities of Zara owner Inditex to focus on “democracy and reach and serve the global majority.”
“Not by chance have we seen macro fatigue surrounding luxury consumer goods,” Ross said: “People are questioning what this [fashion] can do for them, and we need to go back to the core tenets of garments.” The global personal luxury goods market lost about 50 million consumers in 2024. When Ross says that people are fatigued by luxury, he doesn’t mean merely the aesthetics but the experience. The reality is that most folks have now been priced out of luxury fashion. The way Ross sees it, people deserve access to good clothes designed with intention and sold at a reasonable price. No arguing that.
Ross said that he sees it as his role to “make [fashion] accessible. I want to find a mature proposition for the market with clothes that are durable but offer expression in silhouette and proportion,” he said. The first collection he released for his Atelier line in September was heavily outerwear based with generous volumes that appeared “almost monk-like.” This Accessible capsule expands on that language in a way that feels more approachable.
The collection, as seen in the lookbook featuring Luka Sabbat, leans into a somewhat lounge-y space. But, said Ross, “as opposed to the niche fitness trends” we’ve seen pop up online of late (think the endless amounts of running clubs in New York, Los Angeles, or anywhere, really), he is thinking of what it’s like to “meander to the gym.” Less actively active and more about dressing the liminal moments in one’s life.
Ross pointed at an open body French terry hoodie that is meant to “move around in” and has “enough drama but with ease.” There’s also a deconstructed fishtail parka that has no lining but a removable storm jacket that “gives it some structure,” and a small utility bag that is “somewhere between a locket and a harness.” “I wanted to play on these tropes of masculinity to find where to question and affirm,” Ross said.
Ross pointed out that his growth as a fashion designer has been public and well documented. “The advantage is that you can go back and learn,” he said. “What I’m looking to propose now is based on having been in complete conversation with what I’ve done,” he said. But lower price points and Zara’s reach does not equate to millions of items: “There is access but still a limited distribution,” Ross concluded, affirming that his quest for fashion democracy does not come at the cost of the intentional and measured approach he’s built SR_A around.
