WATCH: the Land Rover and Paul Smith collaboration
Land Rover has released a film of its collaboration with British designer, Sir Paul Smith, to create a bespoke Defender – which was revealed ahead of the Defender reaching the end of production.
Paul worked closely with Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) design team – which offers individual customer commissions and personalisation – to create a unique vehicle, built entirely to his own specification. With guidance from Land Rover’s Chief Design Officer, Gerry McGovern, he was able to realise his uniquely-personal version of this global automotive icon.
In order to achieve the look he wanted, Paul gave the SVO team a set of Pantone colour references, which were then specially mixed to create the 27 colours used for the vehicle’s exterior.
Speaking of the bespoke vehicle, Sir Paul Smith said, “Inside, black leather contrasts against blue stitching and there are lots of little hidden details throughout. For example, there is an image of a set of keys printed inside the glove compartment. Then there is a hand-painted bee on the roof, which is another little tongue-in-cheek reference to the countryside and the heritage of the car. Also, the traditional Defender clock has been replaced with a Paul Smith fascia. My designs are known for their attention to detail, so I didn’t want this Defender to be any different.”
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