When Svempa Met Bea

What do you get when you cross a truck customising legend with a top fashionista? We sent Michael Phillips – T&D’s newly appointed haute couture correspondent – to Sweden to find out

- Michael Phillips

I’m a big fan of Lady Gaga. I like the stuff she does and the way she looks. In fact, I will seriously entertain the idea of becoming Lord Gaga when she gets round to asking me – don’t laugh, it’s going to happen. I also quite like Björk, although I’d be the first to admit that the only Icelandic musical pixie in captivity is an acquired taste.

It just so happens I’m a truck fan too – and not just of the ones that bring my daily bread, but also the super-pimped jobs at the far end of the bling spectrum produced by the likes of Swedish custom king Svempa.

So when the editor of T&D told me I had been chosen to write a feature involving all of these, with a leading fashion designer thrown in for good measure, I knew it was going to be, er, unusual…

The Kinks connection

First of all, I enquired, why me? Then again, if you’ve ever seen the way the editor dresses – all suede slip-ons and elasticated waistbands – you’d know he’s not exactly cut out for anything to do with fashion; the only catwalk he understands is the one fitted to your truck. Me, on the other hand; well, The Kinks could have written that song* for me…

But enough of the editor and me, what’s this story all about? I’ll come back to the songstresses in a bit, but let’s start with Svempa. Presuming you went to Convoy in the Park earlier this year – and who didn’t? (really? 50 lines for you then: ‘I must go next time’) – you’ll know Svempa.

You’ll also be familiar with some of his creations; such as the showstopping Red Pearl and Chimera custom trucks, to name but two, plus the limited editions he’s created in partnership with the Scania HQ team in Sweden – the sweet and sultry Black Amber being a recent example there.