British automobile company Rolls-Royce has unveiled the Phantom Syntopia, a gleaming car with a starlit interior created in collaboration with designer Iris van Herpen.

Called Phantom Syntopia after Van Herpen’s Phantom dress collection, the vehicle is inspired by Rolls-Royce’s Phantom, its line of highly customizable cars.

The new Phantom comes with custom features most commonly found in high fashion fashion, including a starry roof, three-dimensional textile sculptures, silk seats and a plush quilted fabric lining.

“For this special collaboration, I was inspired by the concept of ‘Weaving Water’ and transformed the feeling of being in motion into an immersive experience of fluidity within the Phantom,” said Van Herpen.

“I wanted this to become an avant-garde experience of being overwhelmed by the forces of nature,” he added.

“The Phantom’s powerful movement is woven into the changing three-dimensional waves within the car to embody the ingenuity of nature.”

Known for her ability to combine cutting-edge technologies, such as 3D printing, with biomimicry (a discipline that turns to nature to find solutions to human needs), Van Herpen often uses water as inspiration, and Phantom Syntopia was not The exeption.

“Phantom Syntopia takes its name from Iris van Herpen’s landmark 2018 collection, designed according to the principles of biomimicry in which art is inspired by patterns and shapes found in nature,” Rolls-Royce explained.

“Like the collection, which comprises a series of highly sculptural garments that come to life through movement, Phantom Syntopia seeks to represent the ethereal and elusive beauty of fluid movement in solid materials through its ‘Weaving Water’ theme,” the brand continued.

In addition to its aesthetic qualities, Rolls-Royce says the vehicle is “the most technically complex Phantom Bespoke ever produced,” citing its headliner, the material that covers the roof, as one of the most challenging aspects.

Designed to look like a 3D object, the headliner is made from a single sheet of leather. It is decorated with 162 crystal organza flower petals and 995 sparkling fiber optic stars, many of which were applied by hand.

Other technical innovations include an iridescent paint developed exclusively for the car called Liquid Noir that was applied to its exterior.

Made from a combination of purple, blue, magenta and gold tones, the paint was applied using a special technique to create a mirror effect.

Inside, the front seats are upholstered in gray leather, while the three rear seats are covered in a silk-blend fabric. All seats have been created using a traditional rug creating technique.

A specially developed mechanism in the headrests releases a cedar wood aroma.

According to the car brand, Phantom Syntopia took four years to develop and is intended for a private collection. In addition to the car itself, Van Herpen will design a unique piece of clothing to complement the Phantom Syntopia.

The Phantom Syntopia was produced between Rolls-Royce’s manufacturing facility and headquarters in Goodwood, England, and Van Herpen’s studio in Amsterdam.

Van Herpen is the latest in a series of designers to dedicate themselves to automobile design. The late American designer Virgil Abloh collaborated with German car brand Mercedes Benz on the Maybach, a limited edition black and sand vehicle.

Meanwhile, fashion brand Moncler teamed up with Mercedes-Benz to create Project Mondo G, a car based on puffer jackets.

Photos courtesy of Rolls-Royce.