THE DESIGNER yachting Igor Lobanov, with his wife and business partner, Yulia, is responsible for such eye-catching – and contrasting – projects as the 75m Begallta, above, and the 115m Tuhura, below A Different Perspective Russian designer Igor Lobanov tells John McNamara just why he sees creating yachts from such a novel angle R ussia-born, Barcelona-based, fluent in five languages and one half of a power couple with his artist wife, Yulia, Igor Lobanov is not a conventional yacht designer in any respect, though he does believe in the power of aesthetics. “People can ‘go’ radical without forgetting that it needs to be beautiful as well,” he says. “I believe with this industry, there are so many things that can be done different, new, fresh.” Coming from the distinctly inland Moscow and with a background in maths and the automotive industry, there was nothing predictable about Lobanov’s rise to prominence in his field, although his previous vocations do come in handy. “My particular interest was in geometry, especially 3D geometry, and though I’m not building the models myself, I’m constantly working with 3D modellers, helping them to solve the connection of surfaces, or how to build them in space,” he says of his meticulous process in which proportion and precision are vital components. And it was through a connection from his university days that Lobanov became involved in yachting. A former classmate sought a trusted voice with an understanding of design to advise on what would eventually become the 119m M/Y A, a ground-breaking Philippe Starck design built by the German Blohm+Voss shipyard (who have been owned by Lürssen since 2016). From that auspicious introduction, he went on to set up his own studio in 2007. There were inevitable teething problems: “I think our first project was a 120-metre. We spent the year developing it and went to tender with major shipyards but it was then cancelled.” Yet the experience, however disappointing, led Lobanov to approach Oceanco with his ideas and eventually win a commission for the 85.6m M/Y Y708. It was the start of a productive relationship with the Dutch shipyard that has borne spectacular fruit with the 2017 launch of M/Y Jubilee, a regal giant for which Lobanov ingeniously introduced “fake decks” to disguise her true height, as well as the 115m Tuhura, unveiled at last year’s Monaco Yacht Show. This latest yacht may look futuristic, yet the inspiration came from a far older craft. “The canoe always inspires because it is a design polished over thousands of years,” Lobanov says. “So I think this canoe shape always attracted me, and I didn’t understand: why can it not be done with a yacht?” The result is an “ancient natural shape” built on a large scale and augmented with modern technology, with an Achille Salvagni interior that invokes the Pacific islands. If Tuhura has a primitive sense of peace, another project from the studio takes a different path altogether. The 75m Begallta, with her markedly tapered bow, is a collaboration with Italian yard CRN. “Begallta was born when we were working on something else. It’s very different to, for example, Tuhura or Jubilee. We named it after a sword from Irish mythology. Begallta is for a young owner – at least a young soul. I don’t know if I would say an aggressive one but someone aggressive as a businessman.” Belligerent or serene, as this pair demonstrates, no two Lobanov designs are the same. He is a designer people go to for his keen sense of daring and innovation, a compelling combination that has always been at the heart of everything he does. lobanovdesign.com PHOTOS COURTESY IGOR LOBANOV 82 CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM Get the latest news at CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM
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