The decorated British artist and designer gets introspective on creativity and time
Never suggest to Dr. Samuel Ross that life imitates art, or vice-versa. To the multi-disciplinary creative soul, art is life. For artists, Ross suggests that “there is no such thing as a work-life balance”—at least not for himself.
Ross, whose work spans the fields of fashion, industrial design, and art, believes that his output is both a manifestation and a consequence of his past, experiences and growth. And the 33-year-old’s creative well is rich, wide, and runs very deep. Ross is behind initiatives like A-COLD-WALL*, a cult streetwear label that he founded “as a bedroom start-up” and grew to a £16 million company, which recently he sold to his previous minority partner; SR_A SR_A, a boutique company focusing on industrial design and precision engineering across the fields of fashion, architecture, and design; and the Black British Artist Grants Programme that supports emerging black British artists.
A protégé of the late-Virgil Abloh, Ross’ numerous awards in recognition of his works include the Hublot Design Award in 2019. The crossing of paths with Hublot kickstarted a collaboration leading to two limited edition timepieces: the Big Bang Tourbillon Samuel Ross from 2022, and this year’s Big Bang Tourbillon SR_A by Samuel Ross, both distinguished by bold, industrial designs and cutting-edge technical complications.
From fashion and industrial design to horology, there is evidently no area in the creative sphere that Ross shies away from. Not when he believes that art ought to be lived as authentically as life itself.
What’s your earliest memory of being moved by art or design?
Without a doubt, my earliest memory of being moved by design, and the idea of expression through design, goes back to building cameras and computers with my father in the late 1990s. Also, watching him cut, lead, and paint stained glass windows within his home studio. These are core memories that have inevitably shaped much of my life’s work.
What was the first piece of art that you made that made you want to do more?
There’s no one particular piece. For me, art is more of a way of living; a way of looking at what goes into informing a life’s work.
Living between London, the rural countryside and the Caribbean across my childhood and teenage years, led by the pursuits of slightly bohemian parents, who recognise themselves as artists and academics. All these have informed me much.
Describe your personal sense of style.
I believe in a refined, clean, and uniform style. I am partial to deep navy tones or a semblance of black hues, typically hand-dyed by myself, and stitched within our ateliers.
What is your definition of time?
It is our greatest commodity. Time is a precious gift, to be revered and respected accordingly.
How has working with Hublot influenced the way you view design?
Our dynamic enables conceptual thinking and perspectives on material to result in true innovation. Our industrial design teams working together also helped catalyse our respective signatures.
How do you want people to feel when wearing the Big Bang Tourbillon SR_A?
Our purpose is to strike a chord with the wearer; to solicit emotion and opinion. Fortunately, it’s arrived in such a natural manner.
We’re interested in celebrating the industrial and the artisanal. Watchmaking balances both pillars so well. To lean into new materials, while tapping into the experience and skills of generational horologists has been essential to achieving the feeling we wish to project.
What is the most underrated virtue in the art and design world?
The role of the professional critic. We lack this cross-discipline opinion.
What is one myth about artists and designers that you’d like to debunk?
There is no life balance. Art is simply a life’s work. Most of us, who take discipline seriously, operate from a place of solitude.
How much do you trust your gut instinct?
There’s an art to balancing instinct, intuition and research.
