Rolls-Royce Motor Cars PressClub · Article.
ROLLS-ROYCE MOTOR CARS BRINGS SERENITY TO THE 2015 GENEVA INTERNATIONAL MOTOR SHOW
03.03.2015 Press Release
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has brought Serenity to this year’s Geneva International Motor Show, unveiling the new standard in authentic, bespoke luxury motoring to the world’s media.
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Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has brought Serenity to this year’s Geneva
International Motor Show, unveiling the new standard in authentic,
bespoke luxury motoring to the world’s media.
Showcasing the tireless efforts of the Bespoke designers and
craftspeople at the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood to “Take the
best that exists and make it better,” Serenity introduces a
completely new level of individualised luxury applied to a Rolls-Royce
Phantom – already considered by owners and admirers alike to be “the
Best Car in the World.”
Sir Henry Royce’s maxim, “When it does not exist, design
it,” inspired the latest generation of Rolls-Royce’s Bespoke
designers to ask what wholly new approach to luxury would delight the
most demanding and exacting people in the world – Rolls-Royce
customers. Their answer came from Rolls-Royce’s deep understanding of
the most precious, beautiful and natural materials.
Silk would prove to be the route to a new definition of luxury,
one that guarantees every customer a canvas for completely unique
design, every time.
The marque’s Bespoke Design team took inspiration from the
opulent interiors of Rolls-Royces that have conveyed Kings and Queens,
Emperors and Empresses and world leaders. Add to this, contemporary
interpretations of furniture design combined with Japanese Royal robe
motifs and Rolls-Royce designers have delivered a truly innovative,
thoroughly modern and tranquil Rolls-Royce interior.
Delivering authentic modern luxury, Serenity reintroduces the
finest of textiles – silk – to create the most opulent interior of any
luxury car. This unique design demonstrates the levels of
craftsmanship, creativity and attention to detail only Rolls-Royce
Motor Cars can offer.
More than ever, Bespoke is Rolls-Royce.
The fabric of the ultimate Phantom
“Having
revisited the history of the amazing interiors of the elite
Rolls-Royce’s of the early 1900’s, we felt inspired to share this
heritage with our new customers in a very contemporary way,” comments
Giles Taylor, Director of Design at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.
The choice of Phantom for this project was obvious, but creating
the motif that would define this most opulent and modern of automotive
interiors would require considerable new expertise.
Cherica Haye and Michelle Lusby, both Textile Arts graduates
from the Royal College of Art and Plymouth University respectively,
joined Rolls-Royce’s Bespoke Design department to help realise the
direction of the core motif for this magnificent one-off Phantom.
“Some of the most opulent silk motifs come to us from the
Orient, where imperial families’ and rich merchants’ robes were made
from the finest silk materials,” comments Lusby.
The ultimate example of the most opulent robe design became the
junihitoe, a highly complex handmade ‘twelve-layer robe’ of
silk worn only by female Japanese courtiers. The colours and the
arrangements of the layers were very important, with the colours given
poetic names such as ‘crimson plum of the spring’.
In addition, during the Japanese Edo period (1615-1868), the
merchant and artisan classes commissioned beautiful clothes to
demonstrate their wealth and good taste. Clothing developed into a
highly expressive means of personal display, an important indicator of
rising affluence and aesthetic sensibility.
A new aesthetic known as iki, or elegant chic, meant
anyone with real taste focussed on subtle details, whilst those with
style and money found ways to circumvent rules that forbade the use of
certain colours, such as red, by applying them to undergarments and linings.
“The rear compartment of a Phantom is the most tranquil,
beautiful place to be, a place where time and the outside world simply
slip past,” says Haye. “This tranquillity made us think of the
Oriental tradition where Emperors would take to their private gardens
to reflect in solitude under the blossom trees. The blossom motif is
one that is cherished in Far Eastern culture and has been beautifully
applied to Royal robe design over the centuries. We felt it was the
perfect representation of tranquillity and serenity for a beautiful
modern interior from Rolls-Royce.”
Creating the interior of Serenity
As with the
creation of every Rolls-Royce, the genesis of Serenity and its blossom
motif began with a blank piece of paper. However, unlike any other
Rolls-Royce, it also began with a blank bolt of the finest hand-woven silk.
In order to create this totally one-off bolt of silk for
Serenity, the Bespoke team looked to Suzhou, China, the town renowned
for its creation of imperial embroidery. The team sourced the unspun
silk thread and had it hand-dyed by the Chinese craftspeople who have
been creating beautiful silks for centuries.
It was then transported to one of Britain’s oldest mills, based
in Essex, to be hand-woven into just 10 metres of the fabric – enough
to clothe the interior of Serenity – in a process that took two days
or two hours per meter of fabric. The numerous colours of silk thread
were painstakingly blended into the highest quality warp which has 140
threads per centimetre to result in the lustrous Smoke Green
colour of the underlying silk fabric.
Once prepared, the plain Smoke Green silk was
transferred to London where the blossom motif designed by Haye and
Lusby – a uniquely modern take on centuries-old silk Chinoiserie –
began to flourish across the fabric as British and Chinese
craftspeople embroidered their vision of copper-coloured branches and
white petals.
The final touch was the detailed petal by petal hand-painting of
crimson blossoms directly onto the silk. The resulting panels and
swatches that have formed the centrepiece of Serenity would take up to
600 hours of work per panel.
Unconscious painting
The style of painting
employed in the design of the Serenity silk is a centuries-old
technique known as 'unconscious painting'. Much of Japanese painting
technique is learned through very fine and detailed rendering of
classical forms within nature; branches, leaves, flowers, bamboo etc.
The work can be painstaking with the same form rendered again
and again. The purpose of this repetition is to imbue in the artist an
innate understanding of these natural forms until their balance and
nature is understood without thought.
In order to paint a calm and beautiful image the artist must be
calm of mind. Mood becomes all important as it will influence the
balance and mood of the work. A meditative state results where the
brush can flow freely in the artist’s hand – a state of ‘unconscious
painting’. So in preparing to paint the panels for Serenity, the
serene state of mind was all important. The branches needed to have
life, movement, spontaneity – but with grace and calm.
Inspiring Serenity – the ultimate in Bespoke
luxury
“From renaissance times to the modern day,
eminent people have surrounded themselves with rare fabrics such as
silk to signify their power and position in society, whether at home
or on the move,” explains Giles Taylor, Director of Design at
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. “In the early 20th Century, as closed
Rolls-Royce’s replaced luxurious carriages, these opulent fabrics
began travelling with their owners in the rear compartments of the
world’s finest motor cars.”
As discerning customers in the early 1900’s moved from horse
drawn carriage to motor car, the style for many of their luxury
automobiles was the Sedanca de Ville. With open cockpits, chauffeurs
continued to sit on leather, a naturally robust material suited to
exposure to the elements. However, luxurious fabrics remained the
upholstery of choice for the occupants of the rear compartment.
Only when automotive leather became more refined was it accepted
by patrons of the prestigious marques as a luxury material. At the
same time the increasing availability of artificial fabrics to the
wider car industry meant that leather was seen as a luxury, and the
best leather, the ultimate luxury. Today, only the finest hides make
it into a Rolls-Royce motor car.
“The desire for the finest, most opulent fabrics endures amongst
the cognoscenti around the world, including many Rolls-Royce owners,”
continues Taylor. “The thought that fabrics such as silk have been
discounted from use because of their delicacy only spurred us on to go
further than any other car maker is capable of doing. The result is Serenity.”
More than just Silk
Of course, the creation of
the most opulent interior of any luxury car could not simply rely on
beautiful silk upholstery. Taking its cue from the world of modern
furniture design, the rear occupants’ elevated and powerful seating
position has been accentuated with the valances of the seats made from
rare Smoked Cherrywood. Reminding one of the drivers’ position in the
early 1900’s motor car, the seats in the front of the car are clothed
in Arctic White leather.
Smoked Cherrywood continues the Oriental theme within the cabin,
applied the Serenity’s door cappings, dash fascia and rear centre
console, but further embellished by another beautiful Far-Eastern wood
– Bamboo – with the highly skilled application of Bamboo cross-banding.
In addition, the blossom motif from the silk is recreated
through the finest marquetry on the rear door cappings through the use
of Mother of Pearl, which is laser-cut and hand-applied, petal by
petal into the wood. Mother of Pearl is created when two substances,
one mineral and the other organic, combine. Tiny hexagonal plates of
aragonite, a form of calcium carbonate, are arranged in layers
alternating with conchiolin, a flexible protein similar to silk that
is secreted by the mollusk.
This theme is continued in the driver’s compartment of the car
with Mother of Pearl applied to the face of Bespoke Serenity’s clock
and the driver’s instrument dials. This Mother of Pearl face is etched
with concentric circles redolent of the raked gravel seen in Japanese
gardens, and is inlaid with hand-applied rubies which echo the colour
of the hand-painted flowers in the silk lining.
Continuing the theme of ultimate luxury, the luggage compartment
of Serenity is lined in Arctic White leather with an Arctic White carpet.
As a final touch, two parasols featuring the Serenity motif are
held by Bespoke leather loops incorporated into the boot lid.
Seductive and beautiful exterior
The lustre of
Phantom Serenity’s exterior dazzles with its powerful and noble presence.
Its Bespoke Mother of Pearl paint is the most expensive one-off
paint ever developed by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. It has been added in a
three stage pearl effect and hand-polished for 12 hours by the
craftspeople at the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood to deliver this
shimmering presence.
Hinting at what is to come, a delicate two colour coachline with
three colour blossom motif echoes the interior. The coachline that
adorns Serenity’s exterior has been applied by the squirrel-hair brush
of the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars coachline expert, Mark Court. The
asymmetric nature of the coachline signifies the respective positions
of owner and chauffeur, with the entrance to the rear compartment
indicated on the right-hand side of the car with the blossom on the
rear wing and coachline ending at the B-pillar.
Bespoke is
Rolls-Royce
Phantom Serenity is the latest one-off
commission to come from the Bespoke team at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.
One-off commissions and Bespoke Collections helped Bespoke sales to
grow globally by 31% in 2014, with 85% of all Rolls-Royce motor cars
sold around the world commissioned with some level of Bespoke content.
Whilst every Rolls-Royce is special, nearly every customer
desires extraordinary distinguishing features to make their car
completely unique. Fulfilling these requests falls to the marque’s
Bespoke design department; a collective of the automotive world’s
finest designers, engineers and craftspeople.
This approach has distinguished Rolls-Royce Motor Cars for over
a century, with today’s methods echoing the age of the coachbuilder
when customers purchased their chassis and engine before sending it
away to be bodied to their exacting specifications. From the finest
detailing to the boldest statement, customers work in close
collaboration with the team to realise their desires. Inspiration can
come from anywhere; whether it is a request to perfectly match the
exterior finish to a favourite garment or a more elaborate creation
that seeks to tell a story, no idea is left unexplored.
With an unparalleled scope for personalisation, Bespoke is very
much the jewel in the crown of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ unique brand
promise. Indeed, Bespoke is Rolls-Royce.
Rolls-Royce Phantom Series
II at a glance
Phantom’s striking and modern front best
encapsulates the essence of changes that lie beneath:
- A modern front face, featuring rectangular LED headlamp clusters, indicator strip and new front bumper design
- The first car manufacturer to offer full LED headlamps as standard, incorporating curve light functionality and adaptive headlamps for enhanced road illumination
- New single piece grille surround for Phantom Drophead Coupé and Phantom Coupé; colour coded grille surround offered as an option
- Three new wheel finishes available across the range
- Redesigned rear bumper for Phantom Saloon incorporating polished stainless steel highlight and new seat flute design across the range
Sublime and effortless: enhanced assistance, connectivity and
infotainment systems:
- Fully updated satellite navigation system featuring 3D map display and landscape topography, satellite view, guided tours, enhanced points of interest and composite route planning function
- Larger control centre display and eight functional bookmarks in chrome for easy selection of key functions
- New chrome rotary controller, flanked by function keys including menu, navigation and telephone
- Enhanced assistance provided by camera system, featuring top view, automatic rear path prediction and split-front view
- Smart phone cradle, 12V and USB port in centre console; abundant hard drive for storing music accessible via additional glove compartment USB port
Excellence in engineering and pinnacle performance:
- New 8-speed automatic gearbox and rear differential, complement peerless direct injection V12 engine improving performance and serene Phantom ride experience
- Fuel consumption improves by 10 percent across the range; CO2 emissions down from 385 to 347g/km
- Enhancements to Phantom’s lightweight aluminium spaceframe, including the addition of brace bars for optional Phantom Saloon dynamic package featuring stiffer suspension, visible exhausts, thicker steering wheel, alternative gearbox tuning and linear braking characteristics
- Front door side pockets now slightly smaller, due to the addition of a crash pad, for more even distribution of forces in a 30° side-impact pole tests