London-born menswear label A Cold Wall has appointed a “designer in residence” for the first time in its history. The brand’s owner, British company Four Marketing Group, named Joshua A. Bullen to the role in a decision announced on 4 November 2026. Bullen, known for senior design roles at Stone Island, Givenchy and Kenzo, will present his first collection for the brand in Paris for the Autumn-Winter 2027 season.
The appointment marks the first time a new creative figure has taken the helm at A Cold Wall since the departure of its founder, Samuel Ross. According to The Business of Fashion, Four Marketing is transforming the brand from a founder-led structure into a studio-based platform.
What does the designer-in-residence model mean?
The usual approach in fashion is to appoint a long-term creative director to a brand. A Cold Wall has chosen a different path. According to the statement reported by FashionNetwork, this appointment is the first step in a long-term platform through which the brand will work with guest designers at regular intervals. The guest designers will not replace the brand’s core team; they will work alongside it.
Italian fashion site iMille also stresses that the role is not an appointment replacing the in-house team, but has been conceived as a long-term creative collaboration. Bullen is expected to reinterpret, through his own lens and within a refreshed aesthetic framework, the design codes established by founder Samuel Ross. According to iMille, Four Marketing Group CEO Ben Banks highlighted in the announcement the importance of mutual trust and of continuity for a long-term vision. Bullen, for his part, emphasised the brand’s cultural significance.
Who is Joshua A. Bullen?
Bullen graduated in menswear design from Central Saint Martins in London in 2011. He spent a long stretch of his career at Italian technical apparel brand Stone Island, where, according to iMille, he worked as head of design for more than a decade. He then served as menswear design director at Givenchy.
His most recent major role was at Kenzo. Until 2025, as the brand’s design and studio director, Bullen oversaw menswear and womenswear as well as footwear, leather goods and children’s collections. After Kenzo, he taught as a visiting lecturer at his alma mater, Central Saint Martins. This trajectory, spanning technical apparel, Parisian luxury houses and fashion education, makes him a strong candidate for a brand expected to preserve its functional, urban design language.
A Cold Wall after its founder
A Cold Wall was founded in 2015 by British designer Samuel Ross and became one of the standout names among London’s new generation of menswear labels. The brand was once known by the spelling A-Cold-Wall; today it uses the name A Cold Wall in its communications.
From A Cold Wall: pieces from the Autumn/Winter 2026 collection, before Bullen's appointment
Ross no longer holds a role at the brand. Four Marketing Group acquired A Cold Wall in 2024 from fashion distribution company Tomorrow. Founded in 1997, Four Marketing operates in retail, e-commerce, wholesale distribution and licensing, and has previously worked with brands such as Stone Island and C.P. Company. According to FashionNetwork, the group aims to strengthen the impact of A Cold Wall’s urban, functional design line in global markets. Bullen’s Stone Island background also aligns with the company’s experience in this field.
Why it matters
In recent years, creative director changes at many brands have come and gone like a one-season news story. A Cold Wall’s model, rather than relying on a single person’s vision, is trying to bring together a strong core team with guest designers who change periodically. For young brands whose founders have left, this could be one way to gain a fresh perspective while preserving their identity. Whether the model succeeds will depend largely on the first collection Bullen shows in Paris.
Seen from Turkey, the subject is intriguing too: the guest designer model is a structure that could open new doors for young designers hoping to work at an international brand. You can find the season’s schedule and the dates of men’s fashion week in Paris in our Fashion Week Calendar 2026-2027 guide.
Sources
- The Business of Fashion — A-Cold-Wall’s first designer in residence, 4 November 2026
- FashionNetwork — Bullen’s appointment and his first collection in Paris
- iMille — Bullen’s career and Four Marketing Group, 4 November 2026
- WWD — A Cold Wall’s first designer in residence
Image: Central Saint Martins’ King’s Cross campus in London, the school Bullen graduated from (representative image) — Maiximillion, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
