Officinal Italiana Design in Bergamo

OfficinaItaliana Design is enjoying a hugely busy but rewarding period right now. Between late June and early July, the studio entrusted with the sole design of the exterior lines and interiors of the entire Riva range since 1994, was delighted to attend the launch of two new yachts, the Rivamare and the 76’ Bahamas, both of which make their world premieres at the 2016 Cannes Yachting Festival, as well as the unveiling of the new Fiat 500 Riva car. It also welcomed the announcement that the build of the 100’ Corsaro is at an advanced stage – the new Riva flybridge will presented at a special event in Asia before the end of the year.

The products of a fruitful collaboration between OfficinaItaliana Design, the Ferretti Group’s Engineering Division and the latter’s Strategic Product Committee, the Rivamare and 76’ Bahamas join a new line of luxury yachts characterised by entirely innovative, sophisticated aesthetic canons, liveries and design details. They epitomise the effortless mix of style, comfort and performance ushered in by the 76’ Perseo, 88’ Florida and 88’ Domino Super in 2015. The latter models highlighted the talent for innovation that has become a signature of Riva, a yard renowned the world over as one of the great icons of Made in Italy quality, luxury and styling.

Thanks to seductively sporty new lines clothed in a sleek London Grey livery, the Rivamareinstantly steals the show with its meticulously clean, sinuous good looks. This is a yacht destined to make a major impact on the luxury nautical sector from the second it debuted. The Rivamare brims with clever, often automotive-inspired details and accents that make it unique of its kind. It’s no exaggeration to say, in fact, that it has rewritten the rules where timeless elegance is concerned.

“The Rivamare has a sophisticated design with a lot going on in it. Its lines are soft and sinuous with just the right degree of edginess,” says designer Mauro Micheli, co-founder of OfficinaItaliana Design with Sergio Beretta. “We focused on the yacht’s details, which are very refined, to raise comfort and elegance levels to new heights. A good example is the aft relaxation area: once open, it reveals two futons ideal for sunning, swimming from or chilling on as you sip an aperitif: enjoying life, in other words. The extraordinary thing is that despite being so very edgy, the lines are Riva down to the last detail. For instance, the design of the new side apertures or air intakes, is absolutely in line with the brand. I personally find double-curve windshield interesting. That required a special mould but is a feature that adds value. The same goes for the redesign of the steel Riva signal horn”.

The 76’ Bahamas is the new convertible that transfers some of the most successful solutions adopted for the 88’ Florida to the naval platform of the 76’ Perseo coupé premiered in June 2015. These include the innovative Ferretti-patented Convertible Top, itself derived from the automotive industry, that turns the open into a coupé, effortlessly reconciling two very different sporty souls in a single model.

“On a design level, the new 76’ is not the product of the union of two boats. It takes different features from both. To all intents and purposes, it’s a completely new model with a character all of its own and very striking lines,” says OfficinaItaliana Design chief executive Sergio Beretta. “It’s a sporty yacht that absolutely exudes the style and detailing that embody and continue Riva tradition, starting with its Shark Grey hull colour, a brilliant contrast with the bleached oak used extensively in the interiors which also makes the boat feel cool and fresh. This is a very cheerful boat with a Mediterranean character but it’s still perfect for anywhere really”.

OfficinaItaliana Design was also called in to work on the design of the new Fiat 500 Riva, a car aimed at a select ownership and that recreates the inimitable exclusivity of an Aquariva Super, one of the iconic models in the current Riva range, ashore. The OfficinaItaliana Design touch is tangible in a whole slew of details, not least the car’s “Blu Sera” bodywork, a colour exclusive to this limited edition car and previously adopted for past Riva yachts. It is underscored by a double pinstripe in aquamarine that enhances the 500’s rounded profile and echoes the yacht’s own beautiful lines. That said, the Fiat 500 Riva was not OfficinaItaliana Design’s first foray into the automotive world. In 2008, it also worked on the Ferrari Scaglietti concept car, bringing yacht-derived materials, such as leather, carbon-fibre and mahogany, to the latter’s interior. The Aquariva Gucci also involved another experimental project.

“Fiat wanted a new take on the 500 using Riva styling cues and we loved the idea of that challenge,”say Sergio Beretta and Mauro Micheli. “We’re not new to working outside the nautical sector. When we do, we always see such projects as an excellent opportunity to look at things from a different perspective. We also find it very stimulating to interact with experts – the intellectual exchange is instant, in fact. The 500 and the Aquariva, the model the car is twinned with in terms of livery as well as other factors, are both icons that hark back to the 1950s. They’re a testament to a pivotal time in the history of Italian excellence on the international stage. This particular combination allowed us to play with colours and details. We worked on creating quality, striking detailing but didn’t go overboard. We used mahogany into the car’s interior where there would usually be plastic. We trimmed back on excess steel and worked on light-dark contrasts. On the bodywork, two thin pinstripes in aquamarine, a historic Riva colour, pick out the profile like the waterline on a boat. Essentially, we didn’t want to distort the 500’s classic lines but we did want to respect its design and the Riva brand”.

The 100’ Corsaro is a maxiyacht nearing completion at the Ferretti Group yard in La Spezia. It will be presented to the world next autumn at an ad hoc event in Asia. Exuding its own unique style, it hails the Riva brand’s return to the Flybridge segment with new solutions and volumes.

“It’s a celebration of an eponymous flybridge, the Duchessa, the flagship of the Riva fleet in the 1980s. The 100’ Corsaro epitomises the present, however. It is very much a head-turner of a model: it not only has a strong Riva brand identity but also a sophisticated new design,” say Mauro Micheli and Sergio Beretta. “Its clean lines and decisive yet organic forms will appeal hugely to owners that tend to go for less traditional, more characterful boats. The interiors are elegant with every smallest detail designed and executed to perfection. We also raised the bar with the 100’ Corsaro in terms of challenging ourselves. We managed to create, for instance, a new full-beam owner’s stateroom forward that is particularly bright and comfortable. There are also lots of al fresco areas where guests can spend time together, such as the seating area forward of the sun pad, which provides spectacular sea views”.