Yacht designers have long drawn inspiration from the past, but in a world that never switches off, nostalgia is gaining renewed appeal. From 1960s styling cues to full modern classics, Julia Zaltzman explores why heritage aesthetics are making waves in contemporary yacht design.
It’s not often that a 24-metre yacht steals the limelight at an international boat show awash with newly launched superyachts, but that’s exactly what the Picchiotti Gentleman’s 24 achieved at Monaco in 2025.
While the futuristic champagne-hued hull of Admiral’s Armani-designed 72-metre turned heads in the wake of the fashion designer’s death, and Damen Yachting’s support yachts brought muscle to the game, it was the understated, old-world glamour of Picchiotti’s diminutive beauty that drew admiring sighs from the docks.
Glossy mahogany detailing, rounded overhangs and a bi-colour exterior straight from the 1960s set it apart from the space-age, AI-driven concepts that flood the market today. Commissioned by owners with a clear affection for classic motor yacht design, the Picchiotti 24 is the first of the new Gentleman’s Yacht range from a brand whose roots stretch all the way back to the 16th century.
Read More/Gentleman’s 24: On board Picchiotti's tailored take on classic yachtingNostalgic styling is nothing new of course; designers have long mined the past. But the buzz around the Picchiotti is a sure sign that momentum is building, with designers and builders responding in different ways – from subtle nods to full recreations of notable yachts inspired by the golden age of post-war yachting.
“Nostalgic design is about getting back to an easier time, a slower time when the busyness of the world wasn’t there,” observes Ron Cleveringa, Burger Boats’ senior vice president. For a US shipyard with a long history in luxury motor yachts, this feels like second nature: many of its recent – and historic – builds blend timeless lines with modern performance and technology.
It’s a winning combination, Cleveringa says, “owners want to go for a cruise without their phone, without the internet, and none of the stuff that we didn’t have back in the day. It makes people calm down, slow down and enjoy life a little more.”
Burger and Picchiotti are not alone in mixing old and new. Sanlorenzo’s 25.5-metre vintage-inspired SHE (Sanlorenzo Heritage), unveiled in 2025, pays tribute to the stylistic codes of 1960s Italian yachting, while Baglietto’s new 46-metre flagship DOM155 showcases what Cleveringa calls “style cues from days of old”. Codecasa’s 56-metre My Legacy (now Cocktails), delivered in 2021, blends burl wood panelling and fabric patterns taken straight out of the 1920s.
Italian builders have long mastered the art of drawing from rich archives, from Baglietto’s mid-century yachts with upright bows and strong sheer lines to Riva’s mahogany aristocracy and CRN’s custom classics embodying the Italian villeggiatura ideal – the sophisticated pleasures of summer escapes. Like a fine Bordeaux, these modern classics marry old-world philosophy with contemporary construction, refined engineering and efficiency.
Benetti’s Motopanfilo series, inspired by Italian Navetta boats of the 1950s and ’60s, is often cited as a benchmark of the genre. With mid-century sweeping bows, soft curved pilothouse glazing, tactile brushed metals and warm woods, it feels like a greatest-hits of mid-century design.
“It was created in response to the growing demand for boats that combine classic elegance with modern performance and high-level comfort,” explains Sebastiano Vida, head of product at Benetti. Light-filled interiors, near-uninterrupted sea views and terraces cascading to the water give it a contemporary edge.
Mauro Micheli, head of design at Officina Italiana Design, believes the art of blending heritage and modern is a skill. Boating today, he says, has become “somewhat vulgarised”, and he argues that “the flavour of yesteryear lies in knowing how to perfectly blend the elegance of the past with everything new that our times have to offer”.
When Micheli’s studio was tasked with designing Riva’s 49-metre Race (now Kinship) in 2019, they deliberately drew on the style of the brand’s 1960s and ’70s vessels, creating expansive open decks and artisanal interiors featuring hand-stitched leather and polished chrome finishes.
While some builders and designers lean into the classic mood, others are careful about how far that sentiment should go. Luca Dini, who created the Picchiotti 24’s interior and exterior, draws a clear distinction between reference and replication. “Replicating a classic yacht means freezing a moment in time, reproducing forms and details exactly as they once were,” he explains.
On the Picchiotti 24, however, Dini favoured more subtle cues – from the clean silhouette, deep-blue hull with a fine red waterline and calibrated sheer line to the polished stainless-steel frames and sculpted stern edges. “Nostalgia works best when it is not explicit,” he explains. “It evokes craftsmanship, permanence and a more conscious way of living at sea – values that feel increasingly rare today.”
Other designers take inspiration on a much grander scale. Perhaps the most famous wholesale homage from yachting’s golden era is 90-metre Nero, delivered in 2007, with her long clipper-style bowsprit and yellow funnel inspired by JP Morgan’s Corsair yachts. Nearly 20 years later, Ares Yachts’ 62-metre flagship sailing yacht Simena is nipping at her heels.
While not a carbon copy, Simena’s full-rigged bowsprit and trail board are modelled on the old clipper ships, while her name taken from the ancient Turkish city alludes to centuries of maritime heritage. It’s a theme that’s reinforced with traditional teak decks and varnished sipo mahogany exteriors, albeit with an electronic remote-control system for propulsion with controllable pitch propellers.
Even more authentic is expedition yacht Far Niente, whose owners looked to copy the 20th century herring luggers that once fished the North Sea. Rather than replicate the boat completely, however, they enlisted Turkish builder SES Yachts and Hoek Design Naval Architects to deliver a classically styled yacht with an emphasis on modern-day efficiency.
Read More/First look inside 62m Ares flagship sailing yacht SimenaThat said, owning a classic superyacht requires serious consideration and commitment, not simply in terms of maintenance (someone has to varnish all that wood), but also when it comes to performance limitations, technological concessions and rising costs.
Whether using subtle cues, building wholesale replicas or acquiring vintage originals, it’s clear there’s a growing appetite for yachts that offer nostalgic style and character. But why now?
Gregory Votolato, architect and course director at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, cites art historian Erwin Panofsky’s theory of renascences – a selective revival of past forms and motifs – as a lens for understanding the resurgence. “It’s a genus-headed thing, looking forward and looking back,” Votolato explains. “Design certainly is cyclical.”
Panofsky argued that aesthetic revivals often occur when the present feels conceptually exhausted, prompting a look backward for inspiration. However, in today’s age of digital overload when AI fabrications cause us to question our reality, owners are more conceptually overwhelmed. It’s no surprise that, prompted by a desire for authenticity, some owners gravitate toward familiar, functional designs that feel enduring rather than fleeting.
Design psychologist Sally Augustin underpins this theory – familiar colours, sounds and spatial layouts, she says, can evoke positive memories and personal connections. In times of geopolitical, economic and social turbulence, these cues offer comfort. “Things that evoke nostalgia put us in a more positive mood, whether that’s childhood memories or tangible design elements,” she notes. “It’s non-verbal communication through design – and to create it well, you have to understand the people who will use the space.”
Ultimately, nostalgia is more than a style cue. As Luca Dini explains: “The allure of nostalgia is not merely a backward glance; it is a sophisticated response to a world that moves too fast.” In an industry obsessed with the next big thing, these beautiful, enduring classics remind us that progress doesn’t always mean starting from scratch.
First published in the June 2025 issue of BOAT International. Get this magazine sent straight to your door, or subscribe and never miss an issue.
Read More/Nero: On board the 90m superyacht that's an exact replica of a classic