One Million Stitches
The Rose Phantom
One questions I often get asked is “If you could have any car, which one would you choose…?”
A hard question to answer, the irony being that the more cars I drive, the less certain I become. There are cars I definitely wouldn’t want to own, but that is perhaps a tale for another time. With each new experience I become astutely aware of the niche benefits of each marque and model reminding me of the Albert Einstein’s oft misused adage:
“The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know”
Having said that, if asked the question “What car would do you feel most comfortable in?” there would be no hesitation in my response as there is — in my eyes — only one possible answer, the Rolls-Royce Phantom.
I find it most difficult to convey the experience of the Phantom than of any other car, as there is simply no comparison to it; the only way to truly understand it is to experience it for yourself. The drive is one thing for sure. It has a smooth, gently undulating gait as you glide between destinations; it’s literally the fabled magic carpet ride translated into reality.
Let’s not forget the interior, as that’s where the Rolls-Royce Phantom takes things to another level entirely. Yes, there are many places you can get your car customised these days, but they’ll almost definitely do it through their own lens, and with unseen compromises in the process.
They will try their best to replicate the brand’s expertise, accentuating it inline with customers feedback, but essentially there is no getting away from the truth — the best people to customise the vehicle are the ones that (painstakingly) created it in the first place. You can copy her recipe, but there is simply no cooking like your mum’s cooking.
One Rolls-Royce customer has taken full advantage of this service and commissioned a new Rolls-Royce Phantom with one million embroidered stitches. An entrepreneur with an extraordinary passion for flowers, the Stockholm based patron challenged the Rolls-Royce Bespoke Collective to create a scene worthy of this passion.
Always with an eye on authenticity, the Rose Garden at the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood was used as a primary source of inspiration for Ieuan Hatherall (a Bespoke Designer for Rolls-Royce), and more specifically — the Phantom Rose. Bred exclusively for Rolls-Royce by British Rose Breeder Philip Harkness (Harkness Roses), the Phantom Rose grows in the courtyard of the brand’s Global Centre of Luxury Manufacturing Excellence.
“There is a transcendent beauty when a rose garden is in full bloom. The patron wanted to create that same feeling of awe; an abundance of flowers to lift the spirit and celebrate nature’s decadent beauty, in the Rose Phantom’s serene interior.”
_ Ieuan Hatherall, Bespoke Designer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
The Phantom Rose is embroidered in various stages of maturity — from bud to full bloom — in an asymmetrical design that travels from the inside door, across the starlight headliner roof and onto the Phantom’s Gallery on the dashboard.
The intricacies don’t stop there, colour is introduced in the form of Peacock and Adonis Blue butterflies, while the exterior hue of this Phantom was chosen by the patron’s daughter — the aptly named Magnolia. Even the trademark Rolls-Royce umbrellas concealed in the car doors had a makeover courtesy of the patron’s wife.
“The Rose Phantom is a stunning iteration of a contemporary Rolls-Royce. Our extraordinary craftspeople at the Home of Rolls-Royce have achieved, with this car, something which can only be described as sublime.”
_ Torsten Müller Ötvös, Chief Executive, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
With the plethora of customisable options available — in both variety and depth — if you can’t make the Rolls-Royce Phantom feel like home, then I’m afraid you only have yourself to blame.
