Drake Taps Chrome Hearts to Customize His Rolls-Royce
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Drake’s Chrome Hearts-customized 2020 Rolls-Royce Cullinan is a first for the Los Angeles lifestyle brand. Chrome Hearts owner Laurie Lynn Stark said she and her husband Richard have seen and done it all — from yachts to planes to cars and golf carts — but had never collaborated with the luxury auto maker. No simple detailing job either: the partnership demanded auto industry-compliant technical and safety measures validated by Rolls-Royce to guarantee its high standards and the vehicle’s aftermarket value.
“We dealt with them on all the technical parts like seat belts and airbags,” she said, regarding the two-year process that also involved bespoke auto manufacturer Mansory. “The leather quilting has the aesthetic and comfort of our jackets but involves qualities specific to car design. We’d show them our stitching, and they’d adapt it for a car.”
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The Starks toyed with the idea of exhibiting it at their 16,000-square-foot flagship in New York, but the outdoor courtyard at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, where she sits on the board, made more sense during COVID-19.
Fans can also experience an augmented reality version through Snapchat’s Lens Studio, another inaugural partnership for Chrome Hearts.
In person, viewers get a real sense of the car’s craftsmanship and details, down to the wafting new car scent. Chrome Hearts’ branding encrusts every inch — a Cemetery cross hood ornament, CH Plus air-conditioning knobs in sterling silver, CH Plus rims engraved with “F–k You,” and a tufted leather console embellished with Crossball studs. The interior is almost entirely upholstered in black quilted and embossed leather with fleur-de-lis and CH Plus motifs, as well as sun visors embossed with Drake’s name. The exterior is black with an abstract decoration in pale metallic paint on the hood and numerous vents. The pattern looks like a dusting of tree pollen from far away but resembles brushstrokes up close.
“Drake’s very hands-on, and he’s a collector,” said Stark, whose custom fashions for his videos started the conversation that begat the car and collaborating with him on a capsule collection for his pending Certified Lover Boy album. “We spent three days sitting on the floor figuring out which friends would be gifted which pieces alone.”
Limited-edition lifestyle items such as unisex jeans in a custom Carolina Blue wash for $3,085, pullover hoodies for $550, and shearling teddy bears with matching hearts on their chests and sweaters are available exclusively at the Miami store. They’re merchandised in a gallery with an installation of stacked vintage televisions modified to play looped video snippets of Drake’s car. The collection’s release was timed to the car’s premiere, but there will most likely be some disappointed Drake fans.
“Everything’s probably already been sold,” said Stark.
Launch Gallery: Chrome Hearts Customizes Drake’s Rolls-Royce
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