Land Rover and British fashion designer, Sir Paul Smith have collaborated on a one-off Defender that takes its inspiration from the “British countryside”.
ALLEGEDLY A LONG-TIME fan of the Defender, British fashion designer Sir Paul Smith has teamed up with Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) design team to build a one-off Defender.
“The Defender is a British icon, which is something I’m exceptionally proud of,” says Smith. “I keep a Defender at my home in Italy which is in the middle of the countryside, so it’s the perfect vehicle to cope with the rugged terrain.”
The vehicle features 27 different colours used on the exterior panels, which apparently take their “inspiration from the British countryside, as well as colours historically seen on Defenders used by the Armed Forces”. Smith said, “I wanted deep rich colours, but at the same time, I wanted them to work together yet be surprising.”
Smith’s design tweaks extended to the interior, “This is a complete one-off; I wanted to give this Defender a feeling of luxury, so I used a mix of leather and fabric for the seats. I actually used the fabric that I design for Maharam, the American upholstery company. The vehicle features lots of special Paul Smith touches.
“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.”
Gerry McGovern, chief crayon twirler at Land Rover, said: “I felt it would be a fitting tribute to the iconic Defender, that one of Britain’s most distinguished designers worked with the Land Rover team to recognise his creative vision.”
