Top 10: Fashion industry greats and their superyachts
Place 10
Faith - Lawrence Stroll
The 65-year-old Canadian organised the IPO of the Michael Kors fashion group in 2011 and sold his shares by 2014. In the 1990s, Stroll invested a hundred million dollars in Tommy Hilfiger and also benefited from a successful listing on Wall Street. The businessman is said to have launched his son Lance in Formula 1 in 2019 for eighty million euros, where he will compete for the "Racing Point" team; Tommy Hilfiger, meanwhile, equips the Mercedes team with clothing. The investor naturally dropped anchor at the Monaco Grand Prix with his 96-metre-long "Faith". Stroll awarded the design contract for both the exterior and interior to RWD and, as with its 62-metre predecessor, relied on Feadship's yacht-building expertise. The motorsport fanatic is a passionate Ferrari collector and bought a 1967 GTB/4S-NART Spyder for 27.5 million dollars in 2013.
9th place
Moneikos - Leonardo del Vecchio
The rise of the bespectacled baron is the fairytale story of a self-made man. Del Vecchio's mother placed him in an orphanage as the youngest of her four children; his father died before he was born. At the age of 23, the Italian set up his own eyewear production facility in Veneto, which after three years had 14 employees and was called Luxottica. What does this have to do with fashion? del Vecchio produced the world's first designer eyewear collection for Giorgio Armani in 1988. The company now has licence agreements with brands such as Chanel, Prada and Versace. Luxottica - the group includes Oakley and Ray Ban - is the largest eyewear manufacturer in the world following the merger with French lens giant Essilor. And the yacht? Measures 62 metres, was built in 2006 and expresses understatement. The third Codecasa in the ranking, but not in the typical metallic look.
8th place
Drizzle - Amancio Ortega
The textile mogul (Zara), who grew up in Galicia, is by far the richest man in Spain and also the wealthiest European. Ortega's wealth is based on textile retail, but his holding company now also manages real estate worth almost ten billion euros (as of 2019). Compared to Ortega's estimated fortune of 107 billion euros, his yacht is comparatively small at 47 metres. However, the 89-year-old only spends his holidays at home on the Feadship from 2017 with its almost anachronistic De Voogt styling. "Valoria B" sails under the Spanish flag, is moored in Sanxenxo in Galicia and its name reminds the founder of the Inditex Group of his mother's hometown, Valoria la Buena. His second Feadship measures 67 metres, has equally classic lines and is moored in the Mediterranean. On "Drizzle", Ortega and his family travelled the Croatian coast, among other places.
7th place
Atlante - Remo Ruffini
Ruffini is CEO and co-owner of the fashion house Moncler. As the name suggests, the brand was founded in France, initially with mountaineers as its primary target group. The Milan native bought into the company in 2003 and elevated the traditional brand, now known for its down jackets, from the functional to the luxury segment. The 64-year-old learnt to sail as a boy on Lake Como and, before "Atlante", owned only wind-powered yachts. Ruffini also appeared as a sponsor of the Perini Navi Cup. His 55-metre CRN with striking Nuvolari-Lenard lines is no ordinary Mediterranean vagabond; the marine camouflage grey hull of the initially closed-looking explorer opens up in five places; the aft bulwark above the beach club remains open on both sides even while sailing and becomes an open-air cinema when the tender parking area is deserted. Parisian interior designers Patrick Gilles and Dorothée Boissier chose panels made of black brushed oak, spruce and eucalyptus wood, allowing the desk in Ruffini's realm to glide away on rails.
6th place
T.M. Blue One - Valentino Garavani
At the age of 87, the fashion designer still cultivates jet-set traditions, including the Mediterranean cruise on his 46-metre Picchiotti. It was welded from steel according to plans by Gerhard Gilgenast and christened "T.M. Blue One" by Sophia Loren in 1988 - a tribute to Valentino's parents Teresa and Mauro. The king of Italian elegance chose a classic navy blue for the hull, which originally featured lines in Valentino red instead of today's light blue stripes. Garavani designed haute couture gowns in this colour for divas such as Jackie Kennedy Onassis and Audrey Hepburn. Valentino was sold to an Italian holding company in 1998 and retired from active business in 2007 at the age of 75. The brand has been owned by the Qatari ruling family since 2012. "T.M. Blue One" is registered in Italy, the US architect Peter Marino created the appropriate environment for Picassos and Warhols. The Instagram account of Valentino's business partner Giancarlo Giammetti provides information about the utilisation activities of his yacht, which includes a chase boat by Wally. In 2018, Garavani welcomed Gwyneth Paltrow on board off Capri, for example.
5th place
Freedom - Roberto Cavalli
The eccentric fashion designer, who died in April 2024, was one of the few in his guild who liked to go fast. Cavalli demanded 40 knots from "Freedom", seatrials brought 46 knots. With equipment, the 28 metres can reach 42 knots. Three MAN gensets, each with 1397 kilowatts, supply two jets and a booster. However, like his Italian colleagues, he placed his trust in a local shipyard, Cerri Cantieri Navali (CCN). Cavalli collaborated with Tommaso Spadolini on the exterior, which was inspired by Batman vehicles. The two Florentines had already used this approach for the 41-metre Baglietto "RC". The professional eccentric provided far greater impetus for the interior. There are animalistic textile prints (leopards!) and golden accents as well as prints of Cavalli's personal travel photographs applied to bulkheads. Cavalli downsized in order to be able to drive himself without having to go back to school for a large driving licence.
4th place
Maìn - Georgio Armani
It would only make sense that the yacht for the 90-year-old designer with a penchant for dark blue would also shine in the same colour. But the maestro opted for a green so dark that it looks like black. In 2003, the self-made man started yachting with 50 metres in the classic Codecasa metallic grey. He styled the "Mariù" interior himself and chose his mother's nickname. The 65 metre long "Maìn" was given the second maternal pet name five years later. Like Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, Georgio Armani also placed his trust in the Viareggio shipyard a second time. After dropping out of university, Armani worked as a window dresser in a fashion department stores', for which he later became a buyer. In 1978, he founded his own brand and from 1980 onwards dressed Hollywood stars for their films.
3rd place
Flag - Tommy Hilfiger
His clothing played a key role in shaping the preppy look that Ralph Lauren established before him as the uniform of the US East Coast elite enrolled at Ivy League universities. Hilfiger's rise was aided by his bold use of colour and sophisticated marketing. But above all, as a 35-year-old young entrepreneur, he had the backing of financially strong investors such as Lawrence Stroll. The fashion entrepreneur acquired 62 metres from him when Stroll took delivery of the 34-metre-longer "Faith" (10th place) in 2017. Hilfiger renamed the Feadship "Flag" and had his blue, white and red brand logo affixed to the stern. The company was sold in 2005. He talks about his yacht lifestyle on Instagram, which he shared with models Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid, among others, in 2019.
2nd place
Regina D'Italia - Dolce & Gabanna
"Queen of Italy" is how Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana described their first 51-metre Codecasa, which is for sale for 18 million euros. Their second yacht, this time 14 metres longer, was launched by the Italian shipyard at the beginning of the year. The two fashion designers - although they still work together, they have been going their separate ways since 2003 - chose Milan architects M2 Atelier, with whom they worked on both the interior and exterior. The steel-aluminium displacement vessel is to be accelerated to 17 knots by two Caterpillar diesel engines, each with an output of 1825 kilowatts. At a speed of twelve knots, the Codecasa engineers predict that their flagship will have a range of 5000 nautical miles. The layout provides for two owner's suites and four guest cabins as well as a five by two metre pool on the sundeck. Up to 16 crew members sleep on the 950-tonne displacement, LY3 and RINA-certified format.
1st place
Limitless - Leslie Wexner
After it was launched in 1997, the 96.25 metre long Lürssen construction was the largest yacht in the world for six years. Leslie Wexner, whose L Brands group includes Victoria's Secret and Abercrombie & Fitch, commissioned a "Carinthia VI" copy from Jon Bannenberg, only more modern, larger - but just as fast. Limitless" reaches 25 knots in electric booster mode when both 5400-kilowatt diesel engines work together with two 1700-kilowatt electric motors on a gearbox. The 87-year-old was the only US citizen to sail "Limitless" under the star-spangled banner by special decree of Congress, long before President Trump enshrined this in law for yachts over 300 grosstons in size. Wexner is a Republican, but left the party after Trump's comments on the Charlottesville riots. Wexner came into the public eye after the imprisonment of Jeffrey Epstein, who managed the textile entrepreneur's assets until ten years ago and therefore also managed "Limitless". In May 2019, Wexner announced that the big Victoria's Secret lingerie shows were over with immediate effect. This was followed in August by the declaration that Epstein had embezzled his assets.
The article was first published in 2019 and has been revised for this online version.
