In “Traces,” Range Rover Centers a Bespoke Vehicle Inspired by a Pearl from Scotland’s River Tay

Upon a black-pebble bed, in a slender corridor engineered to emphasize linear perspective and heightened by wave-like ceiling accents, Range Rover Bespoke introduced the Pearl of Tay—a one-of-one pearlescent vehicle that anchors the luxury automaker’s Milan Design Week 2026 installation, “Traces.” The singular commission—inspired by a rare freshwater pearl from Scotland’s River Tay—is enveloped by 14 single-material objects, curated by Edinburgh‑based craft and design gallery Bard. This scene, set to an undulating score, acts as an exclamation point to what came before: two additional artistic immersions.

“Traces,” open to the public now through April 26 at Galleria Meravigli, marks Range Rover’s second consecutive year at Milan Design Week, following last year’s transportive “Futurespective: Connected Worlds,” which allowed attendees to traverse time between 1970 to 2025. This year’s exhibition is equally ambitious, though texturally. Prior to the Pearl of Tay, guests are welcomed into a mirrored screening room that delivers an infinite perspective on Buenos Aires‑born and Paris‑based filmmaker Felipe Sanguinetti’s poetic ode to the relationship between color and place (all Range Rover colors are named after a location associated with its derivation), aptly entitled “Memory and Colour.”

The second immersive environment, titled “Memory and Motif,” delves into ruminations on seasonality in Salone del Mobile’s home city, Milan. Range Rover commissioned illustrations from four artists—Hvass and Hannibal, Lisa Rampilli, Petra Borner, and Jules Julien—each of whom was assigned a season. The Range Rover Bespoke Materiality team then embroidered each of the works, with their creations then set into champagne gold vitrine columns. Here, too, the works were amplified through reflection. The soundscape of the second chapter, composed by Father, is softer, almost acknowledging the linen‑toned stretched fabric walls.

It’s with the Pearl of Tay Range Rover, however, that all of the pieces align. Beside it, a pearl from the River Tay rests upon a kilt pin crafted from pearl. “The reality is, there is a lot of crossover in terms of singularity of skill and material and exploration,” Hugo Macdonald, Bard’s founder and director, tells Surface. “The principles that are embedded in the practice of craft are very similar to the brand story within Range Rover.” As for all of the rare objects, Macdonald explains he is on an ongoing quest to meet people all over Scotland and the Islands who work in some form of craft that’s been passed down from generation to generation.

“That results in extraordinary material expressions that have power—and feel even more magnificent when we are used to digesting the world through screens,” he continues, nothing that the pieces on display were selected for their emotional and talismanic quality. “We’ve been struck over the head by the magic of craft. James, my husband, and I wanted to bring to life a space that celebrates that and introduces people to what craft can be. Rather than something that needs to be rescued or saved, we need it to remind ourselves that we are not animals. Our senses are brought to life with craft.”

The entire spatial design of the exhibition was imagined and brought to life in collaboration with London-based Storey Studio, founded by Robert Storey. They helmed the sensory touches—from the infinity room to the way the final space emulates a river bed. It’s these careful considerations, for relationship to place and feeling, that position “Traces” as enriching and otherworldly.

“Milan Design Week is one of the most important moments in the global design calendar, bringing leaders across an array of fields together to experience and inspire contemporary design leadership,” Martin Limpert, Range Rover’s Global Managing Director, says. For the brand, it’s about being a part of the dialogue that transpires during the momentous occasion. “For us,” he adds, “it is the ideal environment to immerse into the Range Rover philosophy of creating truly unique objects of desire.”