Fornasetti to Set Sail With Ferretti Collaboration
MILAN — Piero Fornasetti’s oeuvre, which has been long told in notes of seductive faces and vibrant butterflies, is about to lift anchor. Fornasetti and luxury yacht company Ferretti Group announced a landmark collaboration, marking the home decor and furnishing maker’s foray into the nautical arena.
The deal comes less than two months before a season of boating shows kicks off in Southern Europe.
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The project will take off under through Ferretti’s Custom Line brands and Riva, which was founded on Lago Iseo in 1842 and endures as a symbol of Italy’s Dolce Vita era. In 2010, Riva dazzled the fashion world with a made-to-order Aquariva by Gucci speedboat at the Cannes, France, boat show. Custom Line is known for its made-to-measure super yachts, with custom interiors reflecting the owner’s desires, character and approach to the sea.
On Wednesday, the Forlì, Italy-based Ferretti Group released a photo of the interior design of the private room at Riva’s La Spezia shipyard curated with Fornasetti furniture and accessories, underscoring its aim to create iconic floating spaces or an “intersection of art, design and navigation.”
Milanese artist Barnaba Fornasetti, the son of the late Piero Fornasetti, is at the helm of the furniture-to-decor firm his father started in the 1940s and is credited with propelling the Fornasetti world into modern times, expanding its product offering, geographic reach and through a variety of collaborations — notably a Louis Vuitton collection in 2021 and the Mandarin Hotel in 2020. A spokesperson for the company said this is the first time the Milan-based firm has ever ventured into the nautical world. Fornasetti’s press office said they will have more details on upcoming projects in September on its partnership with Riva and Custom Line.
In another landmark move that further unites the design and yachting worlds, Salone del Mobile’s president Maria Porro was appointed chair of a jury for Genoa’s International Boat Show’s Design Innovation Award earlier this week, along with other cross-industry leaders.
“There’s a powerful bond between the International Boat Show and the Salone del Mobile, which makes me particularly honored to have been invited to chair the Design Innovation Award Jury….I look forward to working with my colleagues to support and promote the quality and excellence of boats that will stand out for their innovation, aesthetics, on-board comfort, energy efficiency and sustainable production,” Porro said.
Led by companies like Ferretti Group, which is listed in Hong Kong and in Milan, the value of the production of Italy’s yachting sector stood at 3.6 billion in 2021, according to the study titled “The State of the Art of the Global Yachting Market” presented by Deloitte and Confindustria Nautica in April. Figures for 2022 have yet to be released but revenue forecasts for Italian shipyards in 2022 are expected to post a growth rate of between 15 and 20 percent. The report also said that the global yachting market was worth 52 billion euros in 2021 and around 60 percent of that value was related to new boat production.
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