As creators of the most celebrated objects in the world, Rolls-Royce is the epitome of Bespoke. Each motoring masterpiece is a canvas for creativity, bringing unparalleled Bespoke capability to life.
Recently Abu Dhabi Motors welcomed Rolls-Royce Phantom ‘Iridescent Opulence’, a fine example and testament to this statement. Featuring a Bespoke Gallery, which debuted as a concept in 2017 designed by Swiss-based Nature Squared, ‘Iridescent Opulence’ is a meaningful and substantive expression of art, design and engineering excellence.
An understanding that the marque’s patrons are increasingly collectors of fine and contemporary art led the Rolls-Royce Design Team to create a space in which to curate and to commission, to exhibit, admire and reflect. A space aptly named ‘The Gallery’, is an application of glass that runs uninterrupted across the fascia of Rolls-Royce Phantom, providing an unprecedented opportunity to present artwork within your car. Assembled in a highly technical clean room at the home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, England – a sterile environment within which delicate and highly Bespoke items can be assembled, from a simple application of wood or metal, to a more complex use of materials not normally viable in an automotive context – ‘The Gallery’ extends the patron’s experience of curation with the marque to a new realm.
Designed by Swiss-based Nature Squared, an established materials specialist which creates astoundingly beautiful finishes using the latest technology to transform sustainable natural materials, their work can be found in the upper echelons of many industries where a desire to be surrounded by objects of outstanding natural beauty prevails. Echoing the views of Rolls-Royce, Nature Squared embraces artisanal skills which are the antithesis of mass production and for their Phantom Gallery commission, was inspired to work with items that have until now been impossible to incorporate into a motor car.
Feathers, which exude luxury, are a bold and progressive aesthetic to incorporate into an automotive context. Extensive research was carried out to identify a sustainable species of bird with a rich dense plumage which would provide an opulent interior to adorn Phantom’s Gallery. Over 3,000 tail feathers were selected for their iridescence, individually shaped to accentuate the sheen and rich hue of the natural feathers and hand-sewn onto an open pore fabric in a design that originates from the heart of ‘The Gallery’, the clock. Additive manufacturing as used to emulate the musculature of a natural wing to bring life to the creation, creating an atmospheric artwork that brings both movement and fragility to this Gallery. Additionally, the clock alone is a work to be revered. The centrepiece is inlaid with a Mother of Pearl surround, which emphasises the lustrous texture of the feathers.
Making the opportunity to exhibit works of art and design within a motor car itself a reality, patrons can immersive themselves in ‘Iridescent Opulence’ at Abu Dhabi Motors, a masterpiece through which the marque once again showcases its unique storytelling characteristics.
