A-Cold-Wall in Milan: Coherent, clever and cool

Few indie fashion brands manage to combine creative gusto with commercial savvy as well as A-Cold-Wall, the UK label that presented its latest collection in Milan on Monday.

Unveiled in a moody show video shot before skyscrapers and industrial warehouses, the collection fitted into the current zen for hyper logomania - from elongated varsity scarves and nylon bags to raised-lettering sweatshirts and chunky tops, the brand name was pretty much everywhere.

A-Cold-Wall is the brainchild of designer Samuel Ross, whose great gift is to impart a certain modern nobility to traditional working class clobber – from stonewashed T-shirts to color-blocked parkas.

This season Ross’s big advance was in his color palette, working subtly from burnt yellows and washed-out lichens to sherbet blues and mottled burgundies. His models strutting around the urban landscape, most of them carrying nylon shoulder bags or mountaineer’s pouches, in a video shot with precision by director Will Dohrn.

In barely a half decade, Ross has developed a highly specific style for A-Cold-Wall - always a sign of a coherent brand. Whatever trick he tries, from techy plissé tops to matelassé vests and waistcoats they all have that A-Cold-Wall-cool and DNA. So much so that the entire cast looked part of some insider downtown club that you hoped would extend an invitation.

A man of few words, Ross’ press release for the show was just four orders: Motion, Form, Oscillate, Converge.

In short, a thoroughly convincing collection by a designer who seems certain to have a very successful future – and on his own terms.

A-Cold-Wall in Milan: Coherent, clever and cool

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