The Art of Rolls-Royce Design

Few understand the extraordinary measures Rolls-Royce takes in crafting each car they produce, which Pentagram de-mythified through an exhibition and above-the-line campaign to broaden its audience reach.

Thorsten Franck used a customer profile to translate their personality into a pattern on stainless-steel and 24-carat gold panels, while Porzellan Manufaktur Nymphenburg captured English roses with porcelain flowers. Helen Amy Murray created silk applique reimaginings of figures featured on company hood ornaments to re-imagine them for customers.

Table of Contents

The Spirit of Ecstasy

Charles Sykes was hired by Baron Montagu of Beaulieu to design a mascot for his 1909 Silver Ghost car. As part of this assignment, Charles created “The Spirit of Ecstasy”, also referred to as “The Whisper”.

Sykes’ version featured a young woman in flowing robes wearing one hand on her hip and touching her lips with another finger, alluding to an illicit romantic connection that has since been widely reported on. Her image became one of the most well-known female car hood ornaments ever.

Pentagram was inspired to reimagine the Spirit of Ecstasy to reflect her presence, providing comforting imagery that resonated with customers of Rolls-Royce cars. Following in this tradition, they transformed her from automotive into luxury context and designed an iconic figure like never before; her new direction boldly facing forward reflects Rolls-Royce’s confidence and poise.

The Muse

Pentagram’s work on the Rolls-Royce monogram explores this notion of creative inspiration through its design of its monogram, drawing its inspiration from both its rich heritage and contemporary visual language.

Rolls-Royce strives to design products that are beautiful yet functional. One such example is the Falcon Wraith’s headliner featuring an elaborate embroidery of a peregrine falcon that took more than one month to develop and execute.

One such element is the grille, which combines wider and thinner columns into an aesthetic illusion of perfect symmetry when seen from the front. This signifies the brand’s commitment to never accept anything less than perfection.

The Embrace

Rolls-Royce designers aim to ensure occupants feel protected in their vehicles by creating cozy environments within. This principle informs each design detail – from the luxurious fabric covering seats and wood veneers on their interior walls, all the way down to embroidered fabric lashing the seat backs and the intricate embroidery work adorning each seat back.

Rolls-Royce’s custom personalization service draws upon the same artistic spirit found among artists and craftspeople. Mark Court has spent 17 years painting pinstripes on Rolls-Royce cars with perfected technique that involves flawless painting before carefully sanding each layer before lacquering is applied.

At Rolls-Royce, our aim was to demystify this craft and bring its process alive for a broader audience. So we created a public exhibition and above-the-line campaign that invited everyone in on every aspect of creative process from its inception through completion without jeopardizing luxury, opulence or exclusivity that define Rolls-Royce vehicles.

The Symbol

Rolls-Royce stands by their motto that only excellence will do: this expression of their founders Charles Rolls and Henry Royce’s shared dedication to excellence has become an international symbol of luxury and wealth, embodying their company’s dedication to timeless beauty and timeless style.

Car brand Volvo has managed to remain relevant in an evolving automotive landscape by combining custom craftsmanship with cutting-edge technology and teaming up with contemporary artists and designers to reach younger high-end car enthusiasts while staying true to its heritage of superior build quality.

The new Phantom offers customers the unique opportunity to incorporate their artwork directly into its dashboard, such as an embroidered image of a peregrine falcon which took over one month and 250,000 stitches to design and produce. Developed by Iris van Herpen’s couture team and printed onto Duality Twill textile.