Design Guy: LORO PIANA SUPER YACHT REGATTA & LORO PIANA AS NAUTICAL FABRICS

THE LORO PIANA SUPER YACHT REGATTA:

The Loro Piana Super Yacht Regatta (www.loropianasuperyachtregatta.com) is scheduled for June 8-12, 2010, in Porto Cervo, Sardinia. Daily racing events are organized by Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (www.yccs.it)

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The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, pictured at day and at dusk with the super yachts moored during the 2009 regatta.

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Yacht owners and the racing glitterati ensconce themselves in the fabulous Hotel Calla di Volpe.

Rates during racing season, Euro 750-1,000/per day, per person.

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In the 2009 Loro Paina Super Yacht Regatta, Pier Luigi "Pigi" Loro Piana captained his yacht, the 84ft. My Song. Pigi and his 25-member crew, were all decked-out in Loro Piana's chic high-tech storm proof sportswear. My Song won 2 of the 4 day events.

The overall event was won by Gliss.

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All by the Italian photographer Carlo Borlenghi, who followed the yacht's on their 30 mile race course through the islands of Maddalena archipelago in the Straits of Bonifacio between Corsica and Sardinia.

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The yacht, Gliss, the overall winner of the 2009 Loro Piana Super Yacht Regatta. In case your interested in this winning "boat", Gliss accommodates 7 guests in 4 cabins and is on the market for Euro 14.5 million. Contact Toby Maclaurin of Ocean Independence (www.ocean-independence.com).

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PIER LUIGI LORO PIANA ON NAUTICAL FABRICS:

Soft, warm, delicate, a cashmere bed coverlet alone is enough to give any space, be it in a villa or a yacht, a final touch of elegance. Until a few years ago, no one would ever have dreamt of using cashmere in interior decor, much less aboard a yacht. But then Loro Piana launched its Interiors division.

"The idea to use our fabrics in interiors goes back a long way because we used to use it to upholster our sofas at home, " explains Pier Luigi Loro Piana, President of the family firm. "And so almost by chance, I began thinking that maybe our fabrics were actually suitable for domestic use and that there was an opening in the interiors market for this type of product. Silk and linen were already widely used, but not wool and cashmere."

"We use the same materials -- fine wool and cashmere -- to give fabrics for sofas, armchairs and curtains that same felling of softness," explains Pier Luigi. "It's certainly surprising for anyone who's never seen a cashmere-upholstered sofa.

Some people think that they're going to ruin it but cashmere fibers are very tough and wonderful to the touch. From my point of view, the world of interior design has to offer optimum quality and not be about showing off. Cost doesn't interest us. we focus on uncompromising quality because that's genuine luxury."

The Interiors division "Started off as a feasibility study as part of my son Franco's degree thesis," says Pier Luigi. "The analysis confirmed our ideas were good." we like working with our retailers, architects and designers so that we can experiment and everything possible with our materials. We often create colors using a customer's sample, even if it isn't part of our color range. The advantage we have is that we have control of the raw material and production so we can develop special tough, stain-resistant, water-repellent materials."

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The 43-metre yacht, Rubican. Discrete, natural colors, together with the use of exquisite materials, all manufactured by the renowned Italian label Loro Piana. The leather walls of the stairwell, curtains, the carpeting, the upholstery are all crafted from noble materials and fibers to ensure maximum resistance, as well as the utmost in comfort, lightness and softness.

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Moving into the nautical segment was very much the next step. "Wool is very much the seafarer's material of choice -- it's always been used for sweaters and bed covers. But cashmere is actually even better suited to yachts because it doesn't get damp. I always have a light (cashmere) coverlet on my bed aboard every summer. And as far as I'm concerned that coverlet really furnishes the cabin: because simplicity is synonymous with elegance."

"We did our research and came up with materials designed for people with beach houses. For instance, we did a linen and cashmere design (blend): it doesn't crease, it's as tough as lien and as soft as cashmere." Progress, and all focused on spoiling clients and lavishing them with tactile sensations. Even when they're simply relaxing on a sofa.

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Loro Piana's motto has its that true luxury is "knowing, not showing," i.e. dressing for your self, not to impress others. It's "an inner satisfaction that comes from an aesthetic, intellectual, tactile pleasure, stemming form tradition, research and genuine quality."

What could be better than that?