Crossing Continents

Steve Leung joins Sanlorenzo’s list of design collaborators to bring an Asian touch to Italian yachting.

- WEI-YU WANG

“A FEW YEARS back, there was a very wide gap in the preferences of European and Asian yacht buyers, but that gap has been closing,” says Mike Simpson, who founded Simpson Marine (www.simpsonmarine.com) in Hong Kong in 1984. He notes that there are some key usage differences still, one being that European yacht owners tend to have harbours and marinas located far from city centres. Yachts would therefore tend to be taken on multi-day cruises and be equipped for longer stays. “However, in Asia, most marinas are relatively close to centres of population. This convenience means that owners often use their yachts for daytime or evening entertainment, and not go cruising as much,” adds Simpson.

Accounting for such differences is where Steve Leung comes in. The internationally acclaimed architect and designer from Hong Kong has extended his collaboration with renowned Italian yacht maker Sanlorenzo (www.sanlorenzoyacht. com) – of which Simpson Marine is the exclusive Asian distributor – to encompass the SX88. The 27m yacht is part of Sanlorenzo’s contemporary sports crossover line, and Leung joins a roster of renowned designers such as Piero Lissoni, Patricia Urquiola and Laura Sessa.

“He is involved with the design of luxury residences, including apartments and villas for yacht owners,” Simpson says of Leung. “He therefore understands better than any European designer what a wealthy Asian buyer likes to see in their yacht.”