A Cold Wall Names Joshua A. Bullen First Designer in Residence

Four Marketing has appointed Joshua A. Bullen as A Cold Wall's first designer in residence, with his debut collection scheduled to show in Paris for the fall 2027 season, the London-based group announced Wednesday.

The move is the most significant design decision at the label since Four Marketing acquired it from fashion wholesaler Tomorrow in 2024. Four Marketing structured the residency as a long-term platform rather than a creative-director replacement. Bullen will interpret codes established by founder Samuel Ross, working with the existing core studio team rather than rebuilding it.

Ross is no longer involved with the brand. He left after the 2024 sale, launched his own label SR_A, and has since signed multiyear partnerships with Zara and Whoop.

Who is Joshua A. Bullen?

Bullen brings senior design experience across several major fashion houses. He spent more than a decade as head of design at Stone Island before serving as design director of menswear at Givenchy. A 2011 menswear graduate of Central Saint Martins, he most recently held the role of design and studio director at Kenzo until 2025, overseeing menswear and womenswear ready-to-wear, shoes, leather goods and kids' ranges. He has since returned to the King's Cross school as a guest tutor.

His Stone Island tenure overlaps directly with Four Marketing's own history. The group, founded in 1997, built businesses for brands including Stone Island and C.P. Company, and operates across retail, e-commerce, wholesale distribution and licensing.

What did the parties say?

Bullen framed the appointment in terms of continuity and community. He said: "A Cold Wall represents to me: community, culture, lifestyle, but most importantly good design. Bringing together friends and enjoying creativity to take ACW into its next chapter."

Ben Banks, chief executive officer of Four Marketing Group, called the partnership natural, citing a professional relationship with Bullen built over many years. He said: "A meaningful and long-term design and cultural philosophy is built on trust and patience, and that trust already exists between us, so we start from a strong foundation."

Banks added that the fashion industry faces a difficult moment, but said change offers a chance to learn from the past and shape a new vision.

What does the residency model signal?

The structure distances the appointment from the conventional creative-director hire. A designer-in-residence format keeps the founder's codes in place and positions Bullen as an interpreter within a renewed aesthetic framework, a formulation that preserves brand equity accumulated under Ross while shifting design leadership to an operator with luxury and technical-apparel credentials.

For Four Marketing, the hire draws on established relationships rather than an external search. The group's track record with Stone Island and C.P. Company gives it distribution infrastructure across retail, wholesale, e-commerce and licensing, channels the fall 2027 Paris debut will test.

With a runway of roughly two years before the first Bullen-designed collection reaches buyers, the market will watch whether the residency converts the label's cultural standing into sustained commercial performance under new ownership.