Italian designer Alessandro Fulle has been crowned the winner of this year's Young Designer of the Year Award, in association with Oceanco, after impressing the judging panel with his multi-functional Prêt-à-Porter design concept.
This year, entrants were asked to dream up a design for a cutting-edge and environmentally friendly motor sailing yacht for a high-profile clothing designer with a worldwide chain of retail stores and some wild ideas for her next build.
Fashion designers have been associated with superyachts for many years now — including Giorgio Armani, the proud owner of Main, and Diane von Fürstenberg's Eos — but so far none have used them for business as well as pleasure. The task required such dual use and asked the competitors to create a design that would not only provide its female owner with relaxation, but would also give her a world-roaming business tool that incorporated a design studio and atelier, where her team could create and develop her range of high-end prêt-à-porter designs, while also providing her with an exclusive venue for fashion shows. Working to strict guidelines, competitors needed to consider how a yacht should be laid out to achieve this aim, while also creating the yacht’s exterior styling and an interior design proposal for the owner’s suite.
The panel of judges chose Italian competitor Alessandro Fulle as this year's winner in a unanimous decision. They felt that Fulle had invested a good deal of thought into a stylish design that completely met all his client’s requirements. In particular, they praised the design for the atelier, calling it "spectacular", as well as his thought-out circulation plan, from the dressing room to stage, for fashion shows.
At the heart of the project is a large glazed central body that "accompanies clients on a vertical path that starts from the concept phase in the design studio (at the main deck level), going through the production phase that takes place in the dressmaking atelier (at the upper deck level) and ends with the exhibition of the finished product during a fashion show on the top deck," Fulle explained. The top deck features no fixed structures and furnishings to allow for a variety of different setups for a flexible and multi-functional events space.
Other highlights include a multi-level beach club with a swim platform that can double as a tender dock and a glass atrium on the main deck that can be used as a showroom or atelier. The atrium is crowned by a glass dome that is covered in solar panels which, due to their shape, can receive light at any angle. The concept's leisure function was also well addressed with living areas that were both well-sized and comfortable, and an enviable spa facility.