A-COLD-WALL* Gives Beats by Dre a Makeover

Beats by Dr. Dre changed the face of music merchandising forever. Bemoaning the substandard audio quality provided by Apple's plastic earbuds, Dr. Dre and record company executive Jimmy Iovine teamed up in 2006 to create Beats headphones. Thanks to their illustrious connections in the industry, Beats turned the act of listening to music into a look – the headphones became an accessory in their own right, and were donned by legendary musicians like M.I.A., Pharrell Williams, will.i.am, and Gwen Stefani in the company's heyday.

Now, Beats has upped their status as fashion accessory to the next level; today, a collaboration with British creative director Samuel Ross of A-COLD-WALL* was announced. Drawing on a Brutalist sensibility that has characterised much of his design output, Ross has created the Beats Studio3 Wireless in 'ACW* Concrete' – a.k.a. a slate-and-chalk colour palette with a speckled pattern, inspired by the industrial architecture he grew up around in Northampton.

'Building a literal link between environment, inspiration, material and function enabled us to project shared, hyper local, hyper global influences as a keystone for a universal community,' said Ross in a statement. 'By this I mean through the cinematography, the shifting of environments and location - the catalyst of music playing a major role in transporting a listener, or transforming a physical environment.' Chicago rapper Lil Durk fronts the accompanying campaign – you may have heard him dissing 6ix9ine on a guest verse for Drake's summer smash hit 'Laugh Now Cry Later'.

The Beats Studio3 Wireless in ACW* Concrete are available at A-COLD-WALL* from October 15th, and Apple.com and special retailers on October 18th.