Creating emotional connection through storytelling, sustainability, and the constant strive to push boundaries – Bentley’s head of colour and trim Maria Mulder talks interiors and material innovation
Car Design News: What does your day-to-day look like?
Maria Mulder: My role covers such an expanse, I think it is one of the most creative roles you can have in colour and materials. I don’t just look after the mainstream Bentley cars, I also work on limited editions, with Mulliner on the personal commissioning guide, and on Coachbuilt models. So I am lucky enough to often work with new material innovations. Mulliner and Coachbuilt probably require the most innovative exploration of materiality, and these are sometimes translated into our mainstream models of the future. The level of creativity that this encourages is astonishing.
CDN: How do you deem a new material worthy of exploration?
MM: We will never use a material just for the sake of it. There has to be a purpose and a clear intention. It needs to be beautiful, sustainable and functional, but it also needs to be better than what came before. It is a difficult task because we already use materials of the highest quality, but if it is the next best thing, it must come through.
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