Rolls-Royce Motor Cars PressClub · Article.
PHANTOM SYNTOPIA: ROLLS-ROYCE AND IRIS VAN HERPEN COLLABORATE ON A BESPOKE MASTERPIECE INSPIRED BY HAUTE COUTURE
09.03.2023 Press Release
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars today unveils Phantom Syntopia, an intricate, Haute Couture-inspired masterpiece created in collaboration with renowned Dutch fashion designer and Haute Couturière Iris van Herpen.
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- Rolls-Royce presents Phantom Syntopia, the most technically complex Bespoke Phantom ever produced
- Haute Couture-inspired masterpiece created in collaboration with innovative fashion designer and Couturière Iris van Herpen
- Two luxury houses collaborate to push the boundaries of innovation, craftsmanship and luxury
- Interior features three-dimensional textile sculptures capturing the movement of flowing water
- Unique ‘Weaving Water’ Starlight Headliner is the most complex in Rolls-Royce history
- Exclusive Gallery artwork hand-crafted by specialists at the Home of Rolls-Royce and Iris van Herpen's Amsterdam atelier
- First Rolls-Royce to use a Bespoke scent to create a truly immersive experience
- Based on Phantom Extended, the ultimate blank canvas for Bespoke commissions
- Iris van Herpen will design a one-off Haute Couture garment to match Phantom Syntopia
“Phantom Syntopia is the most ambitious, singular and highly
Bespoke Phantom we have ever created, and a clear statement of
Rolls-Royce’s standing as a true luxury house. Building on two
decades of joint undertakings with the world’s most celebrated
design houses, artists, horologists and jewellers, Phantom Syntopia
secures Phantom’s standing as the ultimate blank canvas for Bespoke
personalisation. In collaborating with internationally renowned
designer and Haute Couturière Iris van Herpen, we once again redraw
the boundaries of innovation, craftsmanship and Bespoke possibility;
not just for a motor car but across the wider luxury sector.”
Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce
Motor Cars
“For this special collaboration I was inspired by the concept of
‘Weaving Water’ and transformed the sense of being in movement into
an immersive experience of fluidity inside the Phantom. I wanted
this to become a state-of-the-art experience being overwhelmed by
the forces of nature. The powerful movement of the Phantom is woven
into the shifting three-dimensional waves inside the car to embody
the ingenuity of nature.
“When I met the Bespoke Collective, I discovered that the world of
Rolls-Royce is very similar to Haute Couture. Every garment I create
is a one-off, tailor-made to my clients’ individual measurements,
just like every Rolls-Royce. My clients come to our atelier in
Amsterdam for fittings, just as Rolls-Royce clients are invited to
Goodwood throughout the design and craft process. On many levels,
this collaboration was a natural symbiosis.”
Iris van Herpen
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars today unveils Phantom
Syntopia, an intricate, Haute Couture-inspired masterpiece created in
collaboration with renowned Dutch fashion designer and Haute
Couturière Iris van Herpen. Based on Phantom Extended – the ultimate
blank canvas for personalisation – it is the most technically complex
commission ever undertaken by the Rolls-Royce Bespoke Collective. Now,
after four years of continuous development, this extraordinary and
unique creation is complete; it will soon take its place in the
private collection of discerning patrons of the brand.
Phantom Syntopia takes its name from Iris van Herpen's landmark
2018 collection, designed on the principles of biomimicry in which art
is inspired by patterns and shapes found in nature. Like the
collection, which comprises a series of highly sculptural garments
brought to life through movement, Phantom Syntopia seeks to represent
the elusive, ethereal beauty of fluid motion in solid materials
through its ‘Weaving Water’ theme.
“From the very beginning, this truly was a meeting of minds: two
luxury houses that share the innovative vision and ambition to
transcend the boundaries of luxury design,” says Gavin Hartley,
Head of Bespoke Design, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. “Together, we
further explored the potential of Phantom as a perfect canvas for
individualisation. Phantom Syntopia literally takes Rolls‑Royce
interior design into a new dimension with its immersive, sculptural
elements, reinterpreting the elusive fragility of nature’s forms in
a perfectly engineered reality.”
EXTERIOR COACHWORK: IRIDESCENT MAGNETISM
To create the stunning, shimmering exterior, the
Rolls-Royce Bespoke Collective developed a one-off Liquid Noir paint.
Iridescent in sunlight, it reveals Purple, Blue, Magenta and Gold
undertones when viewed at different angles. To achieve this effect,
the marque’s darkest solid-black paint is overlaid with a finish
incorporating a mirror-like pigment, selected for its colour-shifting
properties. To add a subtle, elegant shimmer, the team developed a
brand-new technique for applying pigment to the clearcoat – a process
that took several months, including over 3,000 hours of testing and
validation alone.
On closer inspection, the motor car’s bonnet is seen to feature
a subtle rendering of the Weaving Water motif that appears throughout
the interior, produced by carefully redistributing the pigment during
the finishing process.
INTERIOR SUITE: THREE-DIMENSIONAL ART
Phantom Syntopia’s interior suite incorporates
magnificent features which were co-created in a creative and technical
meeting of minds by the Rolls-Royce Bespoke Collective and Iris van
Herpen. Some interior elements were handcrafted at the Home of
Rolls-Royce by the company’s leading craftspeople working alongside
members of Iris van Herpen’s team, while others were created in Iris
van Herpen's Amsterdam atelier, alongside her Haute Couture garments.
On opening the magnificent coach doors, the eye is immediately
drawn to the Weaving Water Starlight Headliner, the most technically
challenging version of this signature Rolls-Royce feature ever
produced. It was crafted using a single sheet of flawless leather,
selected from over 1,000 hides. Precise symmetrical cuts reveal a
silver ‘liquid metal’ texture made from woven nylon fabric underneath,
used in Iris van Herpen’s ‘Embossed Sounds’ collection, giving the
Headliner a three-dimensional appearance. It is finished with 162
delicate petals made of glass organza, applied by members of Iris van
Herpen’s Couture team who travelled to Goodwood to undertake the work
– a process that took nearly 300 hours. In addition, 187 of the 995
sparkling fiberoptic ‘stars’ were individually placed by hand
alongside the artwork; illuminating sequentially, starting from the
rear and moving to the front, they create a feeling of movement. In
total, the entire Headliner alone involved almost 700 collective hours
of work.
The ‘Weaving Water’ theme continues throughout the unique
artwork in the Gallery, which runs the width of the Phantom’s fascia.
Combining traditional Haute Couture techniques and innovative visual
forms, this highly expressive work includes a further 85 petals, which
were also attached by hand by Iris van Herpen’s team working at
Goodwood, representing almost 60 hours’ painstaking work.
The design to be found on the picnic tables and the passenger
panel just below the Gallery mirrors the Weaving Water artwork on the
bonnet. The motif was achieved by combining multiple coats of paint
and lacquer containing different quantities of glass particles. First,
the surfaces were covered with a black paint mixed with 0.9% glass
particles. Then the artisans applied the Weaving Water motif with a
clear coat mixed with 1.4% of shimmer – an extraordinarily complex
process that took over three weeks to complete. Before commencing the
work, the Exterior Surface Centre team had spent four months
perfecting the formula, running nine trials before identifying the
ideal proportion of glass particles: across the entire car, precisely
one tablespoon has been used.
NEXT CHAPTER IN TEXTILE EXPLORATION
Phantom Syntopia continues the Bespoke Collective’s
exploration of textiles. In homage to Rolls-Royce's heritage, this
unique motor car recalls an era where a driver’s seat was trimmed in
hardwearing leather and the rear compartment in luxurious, inviting
fabrics. The front seats of Phantom Syntopia are finished in Magic
Grey leather, distinguished by its lustrous finish. The rear seats are
upholstered with a specially created silk-blend fabric, featuring a
distinctive pattern which recalls the patterns cast by light
reflecting on water at night.
The seats are quilted with a Weaving Water motif, inspired by a
tufting technique often employed in fine furniture-making in which
embroidery is applied to the reverse side of the textile. This creates
a three-dimensional depth while achieving a smooth, seamless,
uninterrupted surface.
“The result of four years’ continuous development, Phantom
Syntopia is a magnificent testament to the skill, talent, passion
for materials and commitment to excellence of our exceptional
Bespoke Collective team,” says Jonathan Simms, General Manager,
Bespoke, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. “To bring the client’s vision to
life, our engineers and craftspeople pushed their own limits and
challenged existing notions of what’s possible in their pursuit of
perfection. Phantom Syntopia is the most technically complex
commission we have ever created and it was an exceptional experience
to work alongside and collaborate with the incredible team at Iris
van Herpen's atelier.”
AN IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE: STIMULATING ALL SENSES
In keeping with the highly innovative approach taken
with Phantom Syntopia, it is the first Rolls-Royce motor car to
incorporate a Bespoke scent, creating a truly immersive expression of
luxury. It was developed by an expert perfumer – now affectionately
known as ‘the Nose of the Bespoke Collective’ – in close collaboration
with the clients. Designed to create a lasting memory, the fragrance
is subtle and perfectly complements other aromas arising from the
materials used in the car.
The Bespoke fragrance expert tested numerous combinations before
settling on the perfect blend. The core scent is cedarwood and as part
of this project’s constant quest for the ultimate in personalisation,
the cedarwood used was carefully sourced specially from the clients’
home region. The scent’s base combines powdery notes of Iris, obtained
using a fluid extraction technology, with added hints of leather,
finally blended with rose from Patagonia and a mild lemon.
The specially-developed scent-releasing mechanism is housed
within the headrests. This patented technology, which incorporates
innovative materials originally used in the field of medicine, ensures
the fragrance is released in suitably delicate doses for a
long-lasting, sophisticated sensory experience. The development
process took more than two years, including rigorous testing in both
very hot and very cold temperatures, to ensure the scent maintains its
distinctive profile in all conditions.
PINNACLE LUXURY MEETS HAUTE COUTURE
For a truly Haute Couture experience, Iris van Herpen
will design a one-off garment especially for the clients of this
transformative commission. The sculptural design of the dress echoes
the Weaving Water theme explored in Phantom Syntopia’s Starlight
Headliner, featuring an elegant application of the ‘liquid metal’
fabric and the glass organza petals, laser-cut and hand-stitched in a
pattern resembling undulating waves. This exquisite garment,
reflective of Iris van Herpen’s newly developed Haute Couture
techniques, is expected to take around six months of work, including
pattern development, crafting and applying the petals, embroidery,
fitting and tailoring.
Phantom Syntopia will take its place in the clients’ private
collection in May. As a true one-of-one commission, Rolls-Royce has
undertaken that it will never be replicated.
CO2 EMISSIONS & CONSUMPTION.
Phantom Extended: NEDC combined: CO2 emissions: 345 g/km; Fuel consumption: 18.7 mpg / 15.1 l/100km. WLTP combined: CO2 emissions: 353 - 365 g/km; Fuel consumption: 17.4-18.1 mpg / 15.6-16.2 l/100km.