THE BREATH ESSAY
Once, I felt lost. I consciously wanted to take a risk. I just decided to let everything go and follow my breath. That’s the time I started breathing as an adult. A beautiful hot summer was about to end, leading me to understand what breathing is about.
It could be scary to get consciously lost, just like breathing is. We don’t pay much attention to it and, as soon as we do so, we immediately change the alternative pace of inhale and exhale. Someone could turn into a faster cadence, someone into a deeper and slower one. Today, I can definitely say that night I went for the second one.
A car ride to nowhere in the dark. Music was playing out loud from an old radio and lot of dusty sand was floating from one window to another. Looking outside, I realized I was lost and it was fine. Seated next to me, there was a different kind of life: much more wilder and more free, less connected with our everyday reality, much more aligned with something else. Freedom, sense of community and a choice. They say we’re closer now that we’ve been detached, they say we do care more about others now that all of us are in danger. They say we’ll be better after. I do think we’re just at the beginning of a pretty long journey. That night was a long trip too. Suddenly, I was on a beach with an endless horizon and a few tiny lights of fishermen boats. The dark sea was melting with the black sky, while the sound of waves was rising and rising. That sound was my first lesson on breathing.
We could be waves.
We can hit the ground so hard, we can roll on it and reduce everything in foam, but somehow, if we breath enough, we can stand back in a beautiful glassy wave, ready to be rode. If you’re patient enough to pay attention, you’ll notice how relaxing it could be. That feeling of vastness and potential moved me inside.
The humid sand was comfy, soft and totally new, although I partially grew up by the sea. A newfound warm cuddle between the fingers, so familiar yet different. I breathed and found a way to keep that feeling with me. I promised myself. Since I confessed I didn’t knew were I was, I had the task to remember where we left the sandals, so that I could have a sign. I’d easily find them back hours later, despite my usual lack of sense of direction. That was my second lesson on breathing.
We could be signs.
We should keep a sign to find back whatever we don’t want to loose, or forget, and use it as a long soothing breath in. then, we should be brave enough to let it go and find it again in another breath of fresh air: somewhere else, somewhere new, somewhere old.
The sun was slowly rising, while the different life and I were walking away. That long walk made me realize how many times we speed up our life with no reason, and how much time we spend on being stubborn on things we probably don’t really even need. We end up loosing a lot of time. I indulged myself into that though in silence, breathing the ocean breeze through the empty streets. Suddenly the different life gave me a piece of bread. The stores were still closed and the road was full of leftover bread bags. They were left there for free. I realized that I’d probably never take anything form there, I’d probably think it isn’t for me, I’d somehow think it’s the wrong thing to do. Then, I just bit it and kept on walking. That was my third lesson on breathing.
We could be breath.
We should take some time to truly listen to ourselves in order to find the right pace for our life. We should be loyal to ourselves. We should be brave enough to breathe more, in order to find the way, our way. We should find the way and follow it, no matter what. We should look around us and realize we are not the only one down here.
Once I read that breathing is the most natural thing ever for a human being. I’ve always been skeptical by this obviousness.
Human beings have the power to think, choose and make. We’re lucky to have the possibility to express our opinions, as well as our values, and put together something that’s going to mark a time. As humans, we’re individuals who collectively make up community. Having a connection and dialogue is the only way to install a a bridge between people. Understanding needs and knowing how to enhance your work are the keys that led us to evolve and create new energy. Challenges and solutions go along nowadays. These are uncertain times, and we have to be brave enough to stand for something and believe in it. Magic exists when it’s possible to convey alle these thoughts into a vision. Moreover, being concrete is an advantage allowing you a voice in the system. This is what Samuel Ross, founder and creative director od A-COLD-WALL*, makes me think of.
Your work is, for sure, the story of yourself, so I’d like to go a little bit back in time. How would you describe yourself as a kid?
I was born in Brixton, South West London. When I was a child, my family and I moved to Northamptonshire, which is in the Midlands, such a different place, with a different slang and culture. Somehow, I had two different perspectives of England. Growing up, I was encouraged to explore the art world, both my parents are intellectual and, definitely, into art and culture. I was always creating and making things. In fact, as my father is a fine artist, I have early memories of working with traditional stain glass and painting. So I was always surrounded by this artistic environment, and we used to spend a lot of time in his workshop, which is attached to my family house. We knew that one day I’d move forward and become a maker. I used to sell paintings to my childhood friends, when I was eight or nine years old, then moved into selling luxury apparel at the age of 16 years old. Somehow, there’s always been this understanding of creativity and commerciality in me.
I’ve always considered the graphic language as quite a complicated thing. It’s a powerful tool to communicate with people and the idea that the aesthetics of a logo and the colours you choose to use can change everything has always fascinated me a lot. Why did you decide to pursue a career in Graphic Design?
It’s interesting, because at the age of 16 I was totally into the idea of being an artist and illustrator. The reason why I chose Graphic Design was more of a social-economic one. At that time, I wasn’t sure if there was enough financial stability to ensure my career as an artist. Alongside that, I started experimenting with the Adobe Suite, my work became a lot more analog and digital. It was actually a tutor who suggested my move into Graphic Design, given my skills. I was interested in the dynamics of Graphic Design, they really stimulated my mind: Graphic Design seemed to be a new frontier at that point.
What’s the most memorable lesson you’ve learned from it?
Well, I’d say my whole practice, which hasn’t really changed over the years. I still spend a lot of time looking for a critical message and focusing on the typographical elements of A-COLD-WALL*. It’s a language that flows across every single creative medium. Graphic Design is the swipe key I refer to for visual art and the world of design. There’s so much involved, regarding proportion, colour theory and typographic nuances. Looking at elements of colour theory, type, language, pace and tone, you realise how much they collide together, help to convey a message and, potentially, drive you to use experience. It’s so deeply related to my practice still.
Your Autumn-Winter 2020/21 collection is a journey from boyhood to manhood. I found it to be a heartwarming process. Creative directors are people with creative ideas, and ideas come from what we face in life and how we digest those events. During the creative process of that collection, did you face something ‘particular’ and different from what you faced in the past?
The idea behind that collection represents a choice. I had two options. The first one was to stay with the already existent half decade of A-COLD-WALL*, which has done really well commercially. It’s a voice in the streetwear culture and it’s known for being quite intellectual. The second option was to follow the experience and hold that up to the fashion and design community. It was option two that seemed to be the right thing to do from a moral perspective: I thought it was the right choice in order to continue having a face-to-face dialogue with people and the industry. As soon as I made the decision that we were going to compress A-COLD-WALL*, I realised that I had to look at my team, keeping in mind the indices and operations needed for my business to grow. It was self-reflective and enforced me to re-establish my value system in my long term proposal. It was less emotional and more systematic in a way, and it was a great change. I scraped the collection at least twice, my mind was so fixed on having a specific opinion about how A-COLD-WALL* exists within the world of luxury mens- wear and how to effectively communicate in the moment.
Always regarding the Autumn-Winter 2020/21 collection, as you said before it was also a sort of study of your own inner values and a celebration of quality rather than quantity. During the Coronavirus spread, the industry reconsidered quite a lot of things linked with these top- ics. What do you think about the fashion industry’s open discussion around calendars and schedules?
I think it’s a great conversation, and I’m really into this specific topic right now. I think it’s a marvelous opportunity. I kind of compared it to the Dot Com Crash and what came off from that, such an amazing innovation. What we’re facing right now could be a great occasion for brands to reconsider their business model, core values and essential operations, understanding how they can still answer their audience’s needs. Of course, for a ‘younger’ brand, it’s way easier to fix and change its business plan. We need to respond to such a privilege with an agile offering to market, my response is to begin to simplify the creative and manufacturing process. Next season, we’ll start establishing subcategories. To be honest with you, we were considering that even before the Coronavirus epidemic. The solution is to focus on high quality materials, but from an operational point of view: the use of less fabrics of high quality can actually help you get a more competitive retail price, maintaining a high margin for the brand. It’s a new dynamic, which led us to use less products made of a higher quality. In terms of the brand’s behaviour and culture, we spent a lot of time reconsidering them. As a consequence of that, fashion shows have shifted. We’ll continue doing installations and exhibits, going ahead from what was shown, in January, at Service Point1 in London. We’re re-evaluating the capital in order to support the customer and brand. We’re not just talking of an increase in cash flow, it’s also a whole reset on how capital can be used to stimulate the consumer.
Nowadays, I think young people are looking for a lifestyle that ensures their beliefs, values and probably, above all, a feeling of belonging. To what extent can fashion still provide those needs?
Speaking of the younger generation in their twenties, we can’t talk about real subcultures anymore. Probably, it’s more of a concurrent culture. The culture I’m referring to is slightly more specific and introspective, but it still exists and is flourishing. It can be found in niche areas of the web, with panels of discussion regarding new potentials, techniques and fabrics. I don’t think it solves the issue related to the sense of isolation, because all of that is happening in digital spaces. There’s a question mark: ‘Does fashion, as a mechanism, still have the capacity to bring together individuals?’. I think that’s a coded system versus community kind of thing. It’s fine, as long as you still have this rhythm of new forms of communication and community, building on the boundaries of society.
So people, values and human beings with their needs, both as individuals and parts of a community. Given your own attitude, are you truly able to slow down and rest?
I practice a balance between activities and rest, in order to, at least, try and break out of my working routine. I’m able to almost relieve tensions and stress, as well as anxiety. For me, the idea of resting has to do with resistance training. I’ve meditated daily for about three to four months, but it was taking too much time and that’s quite a paradox. If you have the time, it’s a great practice, but for me rest is about being able to separate yourself from work, which is vitally important. Being able to remove that tension through physical activity feels like rest to me. That feeling of post-workout relief truly is like that. It’s probably more of a mental rest, though.
Do you remember a specific moment when you felt totally free or, on the contrary, trapped?
I think you can’t forget the fortune and opportunity you’re given by fans and followers. They actually enable
me to spend so much time articulating hot topics through fashion, industrial design and sculpture. I think that, in a sense, it gives you freedom: having the chance to establish a conversation means being free. If I backtrack myself to ten years ago, I remember working at every type of warehouse and phone shops (even at McDonald’s), and eventually landing entrylevel industrial design and product design jobs. At this point, being able to speak for a generation does feel like freedom. On the other hand, the responsibility of delivering a message is quite high. It’s something that you shouldn’t take lightly, which I’ve done. It doesn’t necessarily feel like entrapment, but it’s a commitment. In fact, I feel freedom, along with a sense of loyalty and commitment to what I’ve dedicated myself to in the last 15 years of my life.
You have a versatile profile and such a critical eye. Having an eye over the industry, looking at the selling, how people react, their needs and how to establish a dialogue with them is not a banal thing at all and is really into the zeitgeist. Being able to catch the moment is a talent, do you have in mind someone who is, or was, an example of that?
For sure one of my closest friends, Wilson Oryema. He’s a poet and author. Wilson also walked for us a few times and, whenever there’s the opportunity to speak in public regarding topics that affect society, we tend to take that op- portunity. What’s quite interesting about Wilson is that he’s tuned into the now. He’s concerned about the ecological damages related to the fashion and design industry. By the way, he published a book on this, as well as a short docu- mentary entitled ‘How Toxic Are My Clothes?’. He’s a key leader of the now, who’s completely dedicated to this con- versation, and sincerely it’s a really difficult conversation to have (Laughs, E.D.). Wilson is an individual I’d propose as an influential key player right now.
You have to conduct a lot of research. So, I’d like to know a little bit more about the Service Point 1 project. How was the idea born?
It was born from a garment perspective. How do we build a functional garment that’s recognisable and speaks to different individuals? How do we produce that garment supporting the ideas of sustainability and circularity, with- out loosing the meaning of luxury and how to articulate fabrics and pattern cutting. Those are the questions that opened up our Service Point 1 project. It was really about how we can integrate fashion, functionality, sustainability and experience into one garment. That’s why the idea of having a function-led garment produced with dead stocks of artisanal Italian fabrics came to mind. We really wanted to share this conversation and perspective with our media community. The jackets were awarded by intellectuals, artists, designers and architects, who were invited to explore the process of each garment. There were six different variations of the M-65 jacket, all following the same pattern, but each one had, of course, a different fabrication supply. It wasn’t just about a garment, it was about the ideology behind A-COLD-WALL*. Alongside each jacket, there was a 60-page book, which breaks down every element of materials, construction, pattern, function, packability and more. A jacket like the M-65 could be seen as an open source, that’s been, to a certain degree, exponentially used (free of license) by every single community globally. It was about finding a fashion icon and talking about it from a functional and social point of view.
Still talking about research, do you have any titles that influenced your path as a creative?
Yes, of course. Cinema has always been a source of in- spiration for me. ‘There Will Be Blood’ by Paul Thomas Anderson and ‘No Country for Old Men’ by Ethan and Joel Coen are just two on a long list of mine. If I had to speak about the contemporary scenario of the movie industry, I’d definitely underline the work of A24, that’s making a direct novelising and adding a new texture to filming. Regarding books, ‘Ways of Seeing’ by John Berger is, for sure, top on the list, because it really opened my eyes as a designer. It’d definitely be followed by Sean Hall’s ‘This Means This, This Means That: A User’s Guide to Semiotics’ and Yuval Noah Harari’s ‘21 Lessons for the 21st Century’. Personally, one of the books that I consider a milestone is ‘The Black West’ by William Loren Katz. Those are just a small part of my personal list. I’m very curious and into spreading an intellectu- al dialogue as one of the most powerful sources of change.