You will doubtless have heard the line about all modern cars looking the same. The good news is that it is less true in the upper echelons of the market, where customers buy into exclusivity.
But the marketing departments of luxury brands still make incredible efforts to distinguish one lump of metal from the rest. And increasingly, this means finding a suitable fashion partner brand.
Right now luxury car makers are very keen to show off their fashion credentials. Maserati has launched a deal with fellow Italian prestige brand Ermenegildo Zegna, focused on a selection of hand-stitched interiors for the new Ghibli and Quattroporte. Meanwhile, Valentino creative directors Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli have worked with the team at Q by Aston Martin (the car maker’s bespoke service) to produce a special edition Aston Martin Vanquish. And Rolls-Royce has also joined in, with a special edition Wraith “Inspired by fashion”. Unveiled by fashion connoisseur Olivia Palermo at New York’s Pratt Institute, as part of the Pratt Presents Women of Influence in the Business of Style, the Wraith comes in two tones of white – Andalucian and Arctic – with a choice of accent color – tailored purple or mugello red.
Rolls-Royce chiefs insist this is a logical step for a firm which has a history rooted in bespoke tailoring. In fact 95 percent of all Wraiths leaving the factory at Goodwood last year had some bespoke element. So maybe all cars aren’t the same after all?
$362,000, rolls-roycemotorcars.com/wraith