Design, naval architecture, art of living: the most ambitious designs in recreational boating are unveiled in premieres at the Cannes Yachting Festival.
The 49th edition of the Cannes Yachting Festival opens from 8 to 13 September 2026 on the pontoons of the Vieux Port and Port Canto. It is Europe’s largest in-water boat show since 1977, and this year it is presenting 150 world premieres in water, including Michele De Lucchi’s first maritime collaboration for Azimut, a superyacht more than 38 meters long designed by Fulvio De Simoni for Isa Yachts, and a 40 m² Croatian floating house fully powered by solar energy. A total of 700 boats from 5 to 50 meters long, 680 international exhibitors and 56,000 visitors are expected for one of the most important events of the recreational boating season.
“Naval design is a demanding profession, supported by ancestral know-how and designers whose work rivals that of the major disciplines of architecture or industrial design. The 150 world premieres we are pleased to welcome in water this year are the most direct demonstration of this: from Michele De Lucchi’s first maritime collaboration to a remarkably unexpected floating habitat. It is this diversity of ambitions, first revealed on our pontoons, which makes the Cannes Yachting Festival an event unlike any other.” Constance Brément, Director of the Cannes Yachting Festival.
A discipline, a tradition, notable designers
Naval design has been a discipline in its own right since the 1960s. Australian Jon Bannenberg, nicknamed “The Yacht’s Corbusier”, was the first to treat the hull, superstructure and interior of a boat as a holistic and integrated architectural project. He designed almost 200 yachts in forty years and laid the foundations of a profession: that of yacht architect, who conceived the object as a whole. At the same time, Carlo Riva transformed a family-run boat-building yard on Lake Como into a world reference for industrial design: the Aquarama, launched in 1962 in lacquered mahogany, would be known as the “Ferrari of boats” and become a collector’s item on display in museums, sought after by collectors just as much as a rare racing car or piece of furniture. A few decades later, Philippe Starck designed the Motor Yacht A (119 meters, delivered in 2008) confirming that a boat remains one of the few industrial objects which combines architecture, engineering and lifestyle in the same commission. It is precisely this profession, across the full diversity of scales, traditions and design signatures, that the Cannes Yachting Festival showcases every year, in the spectacular waterfront setting offered by the Bay of Cannes.
Design embodies a vision
Each of the premieres unveiled this year at the Cannes Yachting Festival conveys a particular idea of what the sea represents in its lines, materials or history. Whatever the scale, design is a central argument for nautical innovation.
The boundary between boat building and interior architecture blurs so that the boat becomes what it has always promised to be: a space where the horizon opens, where time changes pace, where each cruise brings its own surprises. This creative requirement, based on experience, freedom and the boat designed as a place to live in, applies to all the types and sizes of boat represented at the Festival. Some of them demonstrate a radically new way of considering recreational boating.
The designs to discover as premieres
GIRBAU BOATS – G31
Location: POWER021 – L9.42 m and W2.95 m – Boat builder based in Spain
Built on the Spanish Costa Brava, the G31 is the antithesis of mass production. Infused hull construction, meticulous finishing, an advanced integrated smart automation system and an extended bathing platform are proof that high-end yachting standards also apply to a boat under ten metres.
AELUM 1029 – Oasis Meu Amor
Location: PALAIS063 – L11.99 m and W4.99 m – Boat builder based in Croatia
A two-storey floating house built according to the Croatian tradition of boat carpentry, the Oasis Meu Amor is designed for living on the water rather than crossing it. It is powered by solar batteries, crafted in natural materials, and has 40 m² of living space. The mooring place becomes a destination in its own right, a place to stay on the water, a lifestyle choice in its own right.
RIBCO – VENOM 45 SC
Location: PAN029 – L13.40 m and W3.75 m – Boat builder based in Greece
The new flagship of the RIBCO range, the Venom 45 SC is based on a three-step hull designed by British naval architect Lorne Campbell, designed to deliver speed, stability and control in the most demanding offshore conditions. Its expansive deck spaces, zones for socialising and wet bar reinforce a sporty, luxurious dayboat concept, tailored for cruising out at sea.
SARFNAV – AIR 77 Breathe Me
Location: PAN078 – L 22.50 m and W10.50 m – Boat builder based in France
A power catamaran built in epoxy wood, with mouldless construction, making each boat unique. The AIR 77 Breathe
Me is designed by Frédéric Sarfati, a plastic surgeon and selftaught designer, for whom the precision of lines tructures the profile as much as the experience on board. This version is a completely new proposition, with almost 85% having been rebuilt compared to the original model.
SANLORENZO – SHE
Location: JETEE003 – L25.50 m and W6.50 m – Boat builder based in Italy
This is the first model in the Heritage range by Sanlorenzo boat builders founded in 1958. It has minimalist lines, full-height glazing, and neo-classical profile inspired by 1960s Italian yachts. The SHE is more than an exercise in style, it is a manifesto of elegance: that of artisan craftsmanship that few boat builders in the world can still lay claim to at such high standards.
CANTIERE DEL PARDO – Grand Soleil Plus 80 LC
Location: SAIL067 – L26.20 m and W6.60 m – Boat builder based in Italy
A 26-metre sailing boat designed by naval architect Matteo Polli, designed for long cruises – nights at the helm, dawns in an unknown mooring. Featuring 40 kWh of batteries to reduce reliance on the engine while at the dock, its interior design mirrors the standards of a contemporary residence. It is the most ambitious model ever produced by the Cantiere del Pardo boat builder.
AZIMUT – Magellano 27M
Location: JETEE004 – L26.20 m and W6.85 m – Boat builder based in Italy
The third chapter in the Magellano series, with a new creative signature: Michele De Lucchi, one of the world’s most influential personalities in contemporary design, signs his first naval collaboration. The main deck has been designed as an open loggia looking out at the sea, structured by light wood elements reminiscent of pergolas and Mediterranean patios, bathed in natural light that has been treated as a material in its own right.
SUNREEF YACHT – ULTIMA 88
Location: PAN089 – L26.80 m and W9.10 m – boat builder based in Poland
The latest model in the ULTIMA range, the Sunreef ULTIMA 88 is a power catamaran that combines the stability and volumes of multihulls with a sporty profile inspired by monohulls. This 26.8-metre yacht focuses on spacious outdoor areas, refined interiors and a more open and freer way of experiencing life on the sea, which tennis player Carlos Alcaraz has chosen to order.
ISA YACHTS – ISA Viper 130
Location: JETEE009 – L38.80 m and W7.85 m – Boat builder based in Italy
A motor yacht almost 40 metres long designed by Fulvio De Simoni, a reference in Italian naval design. It has a carbon composite hull, three MAN V12X-2200 engines, and a top speed of 35 knots. During a stopover, the three-zone cockpit and extendable side balconies transform the Viper 130 into a terrace on the water, overlooking the open sea.
NUMARINE – 40MXP
Location: PAN001 – L39.42 m and W8.00 m – Boat builder based in Türkiye
The 40MXP is the Mediterranean Explorer version of Numarine’s XP range, a nearly 40-metre-long explorer yacht. Its steel hull, 6,000 nautical-mile range at 8 knots and six cabins for up to 12 guests mean it combines the range and performance of an ocean-going vessel with the comfort of a floating villa, all in architecture looking out at the sea, designed to combine exploration and awe with the Mediterranean lifestyle.
