Virgin Voyages' 2nd ship Valiant Lady got her final touches with a new mermaid design on the hull.
According to the hull art's creator Hillary Wilson, the mermaid represented the tension between vulnerability and strength of the black American woman who was unafraid of her own power and never backed down. Wilson said he wanted to convey the balance between the two and drew the mermaid confidently moving forward to her dreams.
Virgin said that like the sistership Scarlet Lady, Valiant Lady would feature "a glamorous new mermaid at the helm."
"Virgin Voyages’ leading ladies, its mermaids, are an important symbol for the brand and meant to keep guests safe on their voyage."
Valiant Lady cruise ship is the second liner in the Virgin fleet. The vessel's name was officially announced on November 20, 2019. The ship is currently scheduled for inauguration in March 2022. The other three sisterships (same-designed) are Scarlet Lady (2020-built/2021-inaugurated), Resilient Lady (2022 July), and TBN (2023). Valiant Lady is currently under construction at Fincantieri's Sestri Ponente Shipyard (near Genova Italy).
These liners are known as "Lady Ships" - a play on "your ladyship" term regarding Virgin Group's British heritage. A number of renowned designers were chosen to create a new "cruise ship" style and "adult cruising" vacation concept. For ship's interior design, the Virgin cruise line contracted the marine architecture and naval design companies Roman and Williams (NYC), Concrete Amsterdam, Tom Dixon's Design Research Studio (London UK), Gem Srl (Italy), Softroom (London UK), WORKac (NYC), Knibb Design, HL Studio (UK), HKS Architects (Dallas USA), PearsonLloyd (London UK).