2020 is a year that will go down in history – for all reasons one can imagine. It was also a year that Rolls-Royce referred to as unprecedented for their Bespoke department. The luxury auto marque had to shut down their Goodwood plant for a while in 2020 owing to the pandemic. Yet, it was also the year Rolls-Royce saw creativity flourish and scale new heights for the team of Bespoke Collective. Almost every motor car created in 2020 was tailored by this Bespoke division.
Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars said, “The Bespoke Collective scaled new heights of greatness in 2020 – that they did so against the backdrop of numerous, unprecedented constraints and challenges makes their accomplishments even more impressive. Never before have we seen such levels of Bespoke detailing in each commission, demonstrating that Rolls-Royce clients around the world have sought solace in creativity – commissioning introspective items of luxury that will stand the test of time to become lasting and poignant legacies.”
Remarkably, Rolls-Royce’s Bespoke division achieved a new record in 2020. Faced with the challenges of the year, clients have harnessed the creative outlet of Rolls-Royce Bespoke to seek solace and invest time, a rediscovered commodity, to introspectively commission legacies that reflect precious items of historical and familial significance. On average, Bespoke commissions saw a robust increase over 2019, with a marked growth of personalised elements woven into the fabric of each motor car, providing further substance and sentimentality.
One of the Bespoke creations that stood out for the TLB team is Wraith ‘Inspired by Earth.’ This jaw-dropping motor car takes its design cues from the entire Solar System, and Earth, as seen from space. The Royal Blue exterior references the water that covers 75% of the Earth’s surface while an air-brushed bonnet artwork depicts a satellite view of the Middle Eastern region centred on the United Arab Emirates. A hand-painted Emerald Green coachline incorporates the Sun and the eight planets of the Solar System.
The Bespoke Starlight Headliner is embroidered to illustrate all the planets of the Solar System, centred on the Sun. Other Bespoke details include treadplates, a clock with metal radial background, and inlays showing the planets in silver, with planet Earth accentuated in gold.
Another striking example of the Bespoke Collective’s work is ‘Dusk in Tokyo’ as showcased on the models Phantom, Wraith, Dawn and Cullinan. Celebrating Japan’s capital city, this Bespoke creation is a class apart. A complex, multi-faceted white paint, eponymously named ‘Dusk in Tokyo’, characterises the coastal metropolis’ high-rise glass and concrete buildings bathed in the warm light of early dusk. Containing aluminium and mica flakes, the refractive paint creates subtle tones in low light. The Black Leather interior, punctuated by Rose Gold Bespoke Audio grilles and on Phantom, the fascia’s Rose Gold clock case, depicts the contrast of long, dark shadows of the city’s tall buildings with flourishes of the last reaches of the waning sun on glass. Leading the transition from day to night is the Spirit of Ecstasy, presented in Rose Gold for the first time in Japan, representing the setting of the sun.
The Phantom ‘Iridescent Opulence’ combines art with craftsmanship in a unique manner. The Phantom’s hermetically sealed Gallery makes it possible to incorporate natural materials in a way never before possible in a motor car. Featuring a truly Bespoke artwork which debuted as a concept in 2017, ‘Iridescent Opulence’ was created in partnership with Swiss materials specialist Nature Squared. The result is inspired by nature; a Gallery that houses over 3,000 sustainably sourced iridescent tail feathers, each shaped individually to accentuate their sheen and rich hue. These were hand-sewn onto an open pore fabric in a design that emanates outwards from the shimmering, iridescent
One of our favourites is the ‘Neon Nights’ Colour Trilogy. Outfitted on Dawn, Wraith and Cullinan the Rolls-Royce Bespoke Collective developed a new and dynamic colour palette, named ‘Neon Nights’, in a limited run of just four of each colour. The three brightly coloured hues, each inspired by the natural world, consisted of Lime Rock Green, a near-luminous hue naturally found on the Australian green tree frog, Eagle Rock Red, which mimics the flowers of ‘Ōhi‘a lehua, an evergreen tree native to Hawaii, and Mirabeau Blue which takes inspiration from Central and South America’s exotic butterfly, the Rhetus periander.