Beyond Imagination

If there was ever any doubt that the word "impossible" does not exist in the vocabulary of Rolls-Royce Bespoke, Phantom Syntopia, the haute couture-inspired collaborative masterpiece between the British marque and Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen, forever diminishes that notion.

- FRANÇOIS OOSTHUIZEN

It's a typical grey, English-weather-kind-of-day with a slight drizzle when my chauffeur-driven Black Badge Ghost pulls in at the inner sanctum of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, West Sussex. Surrounded by 17ha of southern England's lush and verdant scenery, the contemporary low-rise buildings - designed by venerated British architect Nicholas Grimshaw - and perfectly coiffed trees lining the entrance, a combined exercise in geometry itself, give away some clues of the extraordinary world that unfolds inside.

Only a handful of editors from around the world have been invited for a privileged sneak preview of Phantom Syntopia, the most technically complex Bespoke Phantom ever produced in the presence of couturier Iris van Herpen herself, who spent the past three years working with the Rolls-Royce's Bespoke Collective team on the project.

The finishing touches to Syntopia were done just days earlier, and we are among the very first to behold this one-of-a-kind creation. Admittedly, I feel a little starstruck at the prospect of meeting a fashion designer whose work I have long admired, and excited to witness the result of two luxury houses closely collaborating to push the boundaries of innovation, craftsmanship and luxury.

Phantom Syntopia takes its name from the Dutch designer'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 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. More about that later. The curtain is about to be raised on a creation Rolls-Royce hails as "the most ambitious, singular and highly Bespoke Phantom we have every created", according to CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös, who has vowed that it will never be replicated.