Designers of the new generation of megayachts are going short on ostentation and long on sleek design, immaculate craftsmanship and practical perfection

With the cost of your average superyacht dwarfing the worth even of its owner’s most palatial pad onshore, yacht interior design has for decades tended towards the more obvious displays of wealth. In many cases, prevailing styles haven’t yet abandoned the shameless pomp of the 1960s, when ownership of serious vessels was the preserve of heads of state and shipping magnates. But the popularity of yachts has soared during the past 15 years, and now a new generation of luxury-craft designers are guiding their wealthy clients away from the book-matched marble, and towards an aesthetic born of sophisticated architect-designed houses and boutique hotels.

Lashings of gold, varnished cherry veneer, yards of mahogany and marble, stateroom schemes that splice Liberace with Laura Ashley – much of the yacht world still loves its chintzy clichés and nautical tropes. But for an emerging generation, whether it is the high-status rock star, CEO or ocean-going Russian, the aesthetic must be as 21st century as the technology on board. Minimalism has made its mark: Giorgio Armani’s 2005 Mariú doesn’t feature a single artwork in its trademark ‘greige’ (ie greybeige) interior. (Though, as if to illustrate the polar opposites in the fashion world, the interior of Stefano Gabbana’s 2007-built Regina d’Italia is all gold python, leopard skin, shantung silk, and gold taps with rubies and sapphires for hot and cold).

Becoming more sought-after in recent years is the less thrusting effect of natural finishes and high-end handcrafting, as endorsed by Roman Abramovich; his 2003 Pelorus and 2004 Ecstasea were both created by top Brit-yacht designer Terence Disdale. Then there’s the metropolitan glamour conveyed by the Candy brothers, whose crossover into nautical style from residential property is showcased by Candyscape, with an interior spec running from a custom Louis Vuitton powder room and Ossie Clark fabrics to Dalí drawings and a Giacometti coffee table.

Frenchman Rémi Tessier is another high-end lifestyle designer to have made the crossover into prestige yachts. Reflecting influences such as Tadao Ando, John Pawson and Mies van der Rohe, his “interior architecture” is about spatial harmony and technology, rather than decorative details. He can’t bear what he calls “neo-interpretations of classicism and ostentation”. Tessier’s top-secret clientele of industrialists, bankers and entrepreneurs come to him for impeccable technology, practical perfectionism (even masters of the universe need anti-slip details), and an aesthetic that can be described as “sober sophistication”. His Parsifal III, designed in 2006 as a luxury charter for Perini Navi, boat-builders to Silvio Berlusconi and Rupert Murdoch, is all dark ebony, light sycamore, stainless steel and fine leather.

Likewise, still in his 40s, Dickie Bannenberg heads the Fulham-based firm set up in the 1960s by his late father, Jon, who was responsible for some of the interiors of the QEII, and designed yachts for Robert Maxwell, Larry Ellison and Adnan Khashoggi. Bannenberg père was a major influence on the look and layouts of today’s luxury vessels, pioneering stylistic moves away from conservative postwar rules. Bannenberg today is a go-to team for comfortable elegance, rather than show-off statements.

“We’re known for fresh, tailored, contemporary interiors; nothing intimidatingly minimal,” reveals Bannenberg. “And we don’t tend to get knocks on our door for traditional mahogany-panelled interiors, which still have a depressingly strong following in yachting.” His Blue Bird (originally built in 1938 for Sir Malcolm Campbell) recently won Best Refit at the World Superyacht Awards, with its “bang-up-to-date” design for a young British couple with two children under eight. Illusion, a motor yacht for a Californian couple and their substantial art collection, has a clean, metropolitan look, with signature 20th-century furniture pieces.

A former assistant to Jon Bannenberg, Terence Disdale set up shop on his own in 1973. He left school at 15, enthused by nothing but woodwork and art; his projects now come with price tags that frequently top $100 million (€64m). “We can afford to be choosy,” he demands. “We have a whole bunch of people whose names do not appear on file. The sad thing is your top-secret projects never get photographed or entered into any awards ceremonies.” Among Disdale’s identifiable award-winning designs are Pelorus and Ecstasea for Abramovich, and Kogo, built in 2007 for entrepreneur and McLaren shareholder Mansour Ojjeh.

The dedicated craftsmen on his team include a leathersmith, a metalworker and a carver; carpets are hand-woven and linen monogrammed. But the Disdale signature is “beach house, not penthouse”. “Our look reflects holiday time afloat,” he announces. “That means leather wall panels, beach-pebble bathroom floors, rattan furniture and limestone bathroom walls. We try for an almost primitive natural look that shies away from glamour and ostentatious overkill.”

Citing classic cars as one of his inspirations, Disdale is resolutely anti-fashion, and steers well clear of trends. “Decoration is actually the last thing on our agenda,” he explains. Clearly, when you’re spending tens of millions on a plaything, you want the look to be as timeless as it is impressive. As Dickie Bannenberg says: “If we had a quid for every time we were given the brief of ‘modern classic’, we could all have stopped working by now.” With the market in big boats continuing to boom, these superyacht trendsetters shouldn’t be downing tools any time soon. – Sophie Dening

www.bannenberg.com
www.terencedisdale.co.uk
www.remi-tessier.com
www.candyandcandy.com