Rolls-Royce has collaborated with innovative Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen to create the Syntopia, the most technically complex Bespoke Phantom ever produced.

After four years of continuous development, the unique creation is complete and will soon take its place in the private collection of discerning patrons of the brand.

Based on the Phantom Extended, the 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.”

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.

 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.