Shaun Samson is a California-born British-trained menswear designer who has just launched his own label in 2011. With a strong desire to pursue design, Samson moved to Los Angeles where he successfully completed his first AA in Fashion Design. He continued further studies in Manufacturing and Product Development under scholarship at FIDM. Furthermore he moved to London to pursue his education further at Central St. Martins, earning a BA and MA degree in Fashion Menswear.
Samson quotes that he designs ‘Men’s Modern Street wear.’ His design style is masculine, relaxed, and has an essence of the sartorial. He believes the modern mans’ wardrobe should be wearable, effortless and special.
While the menswear environment can often appear to be limited, Samson has experimented and manipulated fabric and materials to create new textures and a silhouette that will take some by surprise.
What I am loving about Samson’s designs is that he has taken such traditional British objects such as tartan travelling rugs and aran knits and crafted them into something totally unexpected.
He has experimented with and mastered techniques such as smocking and felting and used these to blend together different fibers into one continuous piece. The seamless transition from knit to fabric impresses me as I wonder how it was accomplished. This is technologically brilliant!
Samson recently won the International Talent Support award for Collection of the Year. The prize was judged by a panel including the likes of Viktor & Rolf, Antonio Berardi, Hilary Alexander and Mandi Lennard. His winning collection, was in Samson’s words about “the distinction of urban tribes – how each Scottish class has a distinct and unique tartan,” explained the designer.
“I kept the silhouette simple so that there was an ultimate focus on the fabric and the combinations of different materials.”
Not that I could pull any of this off, however definitely one to watch for the future!
