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In pictures: Superyacht Design Festival 2023

21 February 2023

Take a look at what happened in Cortina d'Ampezzo during the 2023 Superyacht Design Festival, when the Italian ski town played host to the Design & Innovation Awards and two days of inspiring talks, the famous Ski Cup, in association with Lürssen, and an exciting social agenda with leaders from the world of superyachts and design.

The awards

The Design & Innovation Awards were hosted by Shirley Robertson OBE

Francois Zuretti was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award in honour of his impressive career and design legacy

Alessandro Fulle was crowned Young Designer of the Year for his eco-conscious, fashion-inspired design

The winners of the 2023 Design & Innovation Awards

The Cortina d'Ampezzo Town Party rounded down the evening

The Superyacht Design Festival got underway with the all-important Design & Innovation Awards. Recognising the finest feats in superyacht design – including naval architecture, styling, and technology – this year’s winners included Ahpo, Kenshō and My Song, to name a few. The ceremony also saw this year's Young Designer of the Year go to Alessandro Fulle, and the Lifetime Achievement award presented to François Zuretti. Afterwards, guests gathered at the Modern Art of Museum for the Cortina d'Ampezzo Town Party.

The talks

The event was hosted at the Alexander Girardi Hall

Cynthia Halley, an art director at Marvel, gave the keynote for the conference

Stewart Campbell sat down with Sanjit Manku, Holger Schulze-Seeger and the owner of Kenshō

Andrew Winch poses a question to the panel

Sophia Wilson hears from Valentina Zannier, Stefano de Vivo, Ferruccio Rossi and Sebastiano Vida

Panellists opened the floor for questions

The talks were held at the Alexander Girardi Hall, where guests were able to hear from speakers such as Marvel's art director Cynthia Halley, "spray-on dress" creator Dr Manel Torres and the design team behind 75-metre Kenshō. Attendees were encouraged to engage with the panellists and learn from their innovations and ideas, with key players from top yards like Benetti and CRN and legendary yacht designer Tim Heywood all among the speakers. Aiming to create debate and further discussion, the panels touched on key themes including sustainability, new technologies and the emotional response of design.

The social programme

The Damen Yachting team and Lumishore's Edward Lacey

A lunch was held for the Young Designers of the Year, in association with Oceanco

Ferretti Group's Stefano de Vivo and Roberta Sabatini, with Oceanco's Paris Baloumis

Guests enjoy an al fresco lunch during the festival

Nautor Swan's Mariangela Barbato, Floating Life's Filippo Rossi and fellow SDF guests

The social programme included plenty of opportunities for networking, with coffee breaks throughout the day and a lunch for attendees. The Young Designers of the Year were also treated to a lunch with some of the top names in yacht design in attendance.

The festival social

Grand Hotel Savoia was the background for the Festival Social

Laura Pomponi at the Festival Social

The theme of the evening was 'alpine chic'

The event included food and live entertainment

Winding down the first day of talks, the Festival Social was held at Grand Hotel Savoia. The event included live entertainment, signature cocktails, a selection of gourmet food options and a photo booth. Guests were able to spread out across the venue, dancing and chatting and enjoying the "alpine chic" theme of the evening.

Ski cup in association with Lürssen

The town of Cortina d'Ampezzo

The Ski Cup was held in association with Lürssen

Guests were able to relax and network on the slopes

There were a number of categories for attendees to participate in

The winners were crowned at the end of the races at Chalet Tofane

The Ski Cup, held in association with Lürssen, saw races such as the Women's Giant Slalom ski, Men's Giant Slalom ski, Snowboarding Giant Slalom and the Team Time ski time race take place. The exciting event was followed by prize-giving, networking and dining at Chalet Tofane.