Being creative should be personal. It doesn’t matter if it is wrong, as long as you believe in it. I have been reviewing cars and hotels since 2015. I also combine my style with lifestyle reviews. But for the first time, I decided to work on my personal branding. Stepping out of any supercar like the Ferrari Roma was the perfect product placement.

Ferrari Roma Gracie Opulanza White pearl

Kingfly embroidery Gracie Opulanza denim car jeans Aston Martin Vantage Roadster Chipping Camden

KingFly Embroidery

What better message than to team up with David Morrish an expert in embroidery art? Speaking to David here is how he came up with the design. Loved admiring the embroidery sitting in the Aston Martin Vantage Roadster.

I started with your initials which spelt out the word “GO” and instantly had the Vision of a car race with the words “GO GO GO “ stuck in my head. The feel of the design was inspired by a visit to The Carding Shed in Holmfirth, which is an automotive-themed cafe. On the walls were retro and vintage car-related posters, mostly old advertisements for fuel, spark plugs or car brands.

I knew then I wanted a pop art style, a colourful feel, with go-faster stripes representing the road and also a sense of speed. Since trousers have two legs, each with a front and back, it gave me an opportunity to experiment with composition, but I was keen to make the left and right leg imagery work together when the wear is stood with their legs together. I opted for an external car view and then a not-so-obvious internal view (so the viewer is the driver), both of a vintage car, that isn’t recognisable to anyone from one particular brand.  I chose bright, bold positive colours for a feel-good factor.

Upcycling Denim Tips

Denim is so robust as you can read here about Levi’s jeans that lasted over one hundred years.

Levi's red tag vintage jeans

Go to charity or vintage stores the quality of denim in the past is so much more robust than denim of denim fabric now. To embroider on denim jeans, I would recommend Indigo denim. It is an expensive denim process and it is a very thick denim that is very washable without compromising the embroidery let alone the denim look.

Levis red tag denim Lucca Italy

Embroid Your Cuffs

Walking the streets of Tuscany I noticed the oversize cuff trends were in full force. Cuffing is not only a practical way of making your jeans shorter without having to cut and sew, but it also looks great. And it’s a fun way to add a personal touch to the otherwise seemingly similar raw denim jeans we wear. I owned a pair of Prada indigo denim for over five years. It teamed well with the Bentley Continental GTC Speed convertible.

Bentley GT Continental Gracie Opulanza Embroidery Denim Kingfly (12)

Many people always comment on how cool they look especially when I cuff them. I wanted an exaggerated cuff look because the time, effort and bespoke element to create the message is nothing short of genius.

Can you see the GO and steering wheel synergies here?

Bentley GT Continental Gracie Opulanza Embroidery Denim Kingfly (12)

How To Cuff Your Message

David and I created a call-to-action message. It is all about the cars and my quirky nature. I wanted the initials GO, a comics vibe with a vintage message. It was important that a car image was embroidered with a fluorescent reflective print.

This has never been done before, we didn’t know the outcome but it is a head-turner. Kingfly embroidery Gracie Opulanza denim car jeans Aston Martin Vantage Roadster Chipping Camden

Everywhere I walked in the Cotswolds people were coming up to me, asking where I got the denim from.

It looked so striking behind the wheel of an Aston Martin Vantage Roadster.

Kingfly embroidery Gracie Opulanza denim car jeans Aston Martin vantage Roadster

The Vintage Car Image

I am a lover of vintage cars as they have so much personality. I drove a few for the Jaguar UK Classic Car experience.

Jaguar Classic Car Track Day MenStyleFashion 2018 Gracie Opulanza (11)

I drive classic cars in Tuscany on this occasion trending Fiat.

Villa Reale Gracie Opulanza Tuscany Fiat 2021 (1) Fiat 500 Classic car Gracie Opulanza Tuscany italy beige

I am all about lifestyle, passion and emotion when getting behind any car. David opted for a few designs and I chose this one.

Kingfly embroidery Gracie Opulanza denim car jeans Aston Martin Vantage

One pocket or two? We decided to embroider one pocket only my call to action logo and the result is amazing. My design tip is to work with David but at the end of the day he is the artist so let him be creative with what you are seeking.

Kingfly embroidery Gracie Opulanza denim car jeans Aston Martinn Vantage Chipping Camden

I just adore the message and the uniqueness of what we both created here.

Being creative should be personal. It doesn’t matter if it is wrong, as long as you believe in it.

Bentley GT Continental

If you are going to spend up to 250,000 pounds on a car then what you wear has to be equal to this fabulous Bentley GT Continental. When a person orders a Bentley, it is created for the buyer’s bespoke instructions. Just like my embroidery jeans, the process is exactly the same. The car must reflect the person’s flare for life. Bentley Motors is starting embroidery art on their new dashboards for 2023. Just think GO!

Bentley GT Continental Morrocan Blue Cotswolds. Gracie Opulanza 2022jpg (2)

My shoe tip is not to wear red leather trainers as it distracts from the embroidery print. But I have to wear trainers for the Speed Queen acceleration. The family that took this shot came up to me and asked about my embroidery, not at all interested in the car.

Gracie Opulanza Embroidery Kingfly denim (4)

David opted for strips on the back of the cuffs to balance the overall design. If bespoke is what you want no one in the world up until now has come up with this idea.