Hello petal! The latest bespoke Rolls project is the Phantom Cherry Blossom

Rolls-Royce’s latest bespoke commission is rather poetic. The Phantom 8 has been spruced up to create a one-of-one Cherry Blossom edition. 

We say 'spruced'. This is a bit like adding the cherry on top of a five-star Michelin restaurant, isn't it? Frankly, the simple 'Crystal over Arctic White' exterior coachwork of this Phantom Extended belies the deilght of the cabin's theme, 'Hanami'.

Before we go into detail, there's something you should know; 'Hanami' translates to 'flower viewing' in English..., er, or 'nose viewing' depending on where you put the tone in 'hana'. Since Rolls describes the 'beauty of a natural spectacle', let's stick with the flowers, and file the rest away as pub trivia. 

The Phantom Cherry Blossom is an exquisitely handcrafted nod to life's impermanence, inspired by the Japanese national obsession with blooming pink things hanging from trees. The blooms only hang around for a few days and there's even a Hanami Report (not that dissimilar to the weather report) to track the thing.

Rolls tells us it took six months of effort to create delicate petals using 'sculptural 3D embroidery'. It involved layering threads upon themselves to create self-supporting structures. Once the 3D petals were made, they were then handstitched into place – mainly in the bespoke starlight headliner.

The centrepiece of any Phantom, the starlight headliner took over three weeks and 250,000 stitches to complete. The lights catch the delicate 3D satin-thread petals that sit adorning the branches of the cherry tree overhead. Petals have also been carefully placed around the cabin, as though having fallen from the tree. Cue a heart eyes emoji.

As with the intricate work on the Phantom Dragon, the Phantom Cherry Blossom takes the artisanal work of the starlight headliner to a new level. 

The motif of falling petals has also been added to bespoke umbrellas, and there's subtle artistry on the rear doors outside too. 

Sakura (the Japanese word for 'cherry blossom') adorns everything at this time of year, including but not limited to soft drinks, packets of crisps, desserts, soft toys, F1 liveries and of course, the actual trees. You know, those things that you need money to grow on if you're ever likely to commission your own bespoke Rolls...