Fashion designer, artist and industrial designer Samuel Ross was awarded an Honorary Doctorate degree by the University of Westminster at a special graduation ceremony held at London’s Royal Festival Hall on 8 November 2021.

Samuel Ross
L-R: Professor Andrew Groves, Samuel Ross, Dr Peter Bonfield, Vice-Chancellor and President at the University of Westminster

The prestigious award marks Samuel’s significant and enduring contributions to design, the creative industries and for his exceptional support of others through his philanthropy. He is known to be an exceptional example of a trailblazing, multi-dimensional innovator who has redefined what it means to be creative within the fashion industry.

Born in Brixton in 1991 to second-generation Windrush parents of Caribbean descent, Samuel went on to study graphic design at De Montford University. Soon after graduating in 2012, his work was quickly spotted on Instagram by Virgil Abloh, American designer and CEO of fashion label Off-White. Abloh hired Samuel as an intern, and then as his first design assistant. Samuel collaborated on various projects with Off-White, as well as with Kanye West’s design business, where he created album artwork, stage design, art projects and fashion design.

In 2014, Samuel founded his own menswear brand ‘A-COLD-WALL*’, whose concept began as a think piece exploring the socio-economic concerns, inequalities and realities that Samuel has observed in inner-city London. The brand’s aesthetic is informed by Samuel’s studies in graphic design, British class systems and brutalism. By 2017, he was showing at London Fashion Week, and was named British Emerging Menswear Designer of the Year at the British Fashion Awards the following year.

The extension of his work into industrial design, sculpture and architecture expanded the discourse about his philosophy and the function of the designer across multiple disciplines. In 2019, he received the Hublot Design Prize for his multidisciplinary approach to design and communication, where his winning proposal was a refuge point built to contain environmental blankets manufactured from recycled and repurposed materials.

Samuel has been a passionate advocate for students, offering internships to many students, including those from Westminster, to work with him and learn about the industry. He has also donated pieces to the Westminster Menswear Archive, allowing current students at the University of Westminster to explore his work at depth. He also spoke about his work as part of Westminster’s Invisible Men exhibition in 2019.

In response to Black Lives Matter, Samuel announced a series of initiatives, including awarding ten independent Black-owned businesses a total of £25,000 in grants from his company. Following awarding these grants, he contributed a further ten grants to Black British and international artists with American artist Daniel Arsham. In September 2021, Samuel announced a new series of grants for Black British and minority ethnic artists, this time maturing the initiative through the formation of an academic and institutional advisory board.

Samuel’s overarching approach of understanding the transformative power of creative thinking has enabled him to transform the lives of many creative individuals through his practice. 

Talking about his work, Samuel Ross said: “I believe in developing the creative landscape through talent recognition, academic integration, advocacy, institutional support, long-term partnerships and long-form dialogues with leadership institutions who recognise that optimised change comes through infrastructure and design thinking.”

Professor Andrew Groves, Professor of Fashion Design at the University of Westminster, added: “I am thrilled that the University of Westminster has awarded an Honorary Doctorate to Samuel Ross for his exceptional contribution to design, the creative industries and his outstanding support of others through his philanthropy. Samuel has helped to redefine contemporary fashion, and through his creative multi-disciplinary approach, he has transformed other disciplines such as graphic design, industrial design and sculpture.” 
 

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