PROFILE
yacht designer
JULIEN CADRO INJECTING NEW ECO-FRIENDLY LIFE INTO YACHTING | BY RAJ GILL
T
he yachting industry is about to get all shook up, enter Julien Cadro, the young French yacht designer who is determined to inject new eco-friendly life into yachting. Brought up on the French Riviera Julien was inspired by his seaside home to follow his dreams of bringing innovation to the industry. Julien took time out of his busy schedule to talk with Journalist Raj Gill all about how he became a yacht designer and how he is coping with the pandemic and his plans for the future.
to work for a Monaco based start-up which specializes in building electric tenders.
Tell me a little about yourself.
If I have to talk about yacht design, I can say that I really like the work done by Lobanov design and Sinot design because I am seduced by their ideas and their abilities to develop amazing global concepts.
My name is Julien. I am 23 years old and I’m a French yacht designer, I graduated in 2019. Where did you grow up? And how did that have an influence on the career you chose to pursue? I grew up in France in a little seaside resort called La Baule. I think that I decided to design yachts because I grew up next to the sea, going for many walks on the seafront when I was a child. How did your journey as a designer begin? My journey in yacht design is relatively new as I am only 23 years old. My first contract was to be in England last March but unfortunately, my contract was canceled due to the coronavirus. Then I built my design studio in order
What inspires you? I am inspired by architecture. I try to develop simple and pure shapes that we can find in architecture, where all the lines are really organized. Who inspires you?
I also admire the work done by Luca Bassani with his Wally brand, he shook up the yacht industry. I have to say that I really love the work done by Guido De Groot and his team for Vanquish Yachts. And last but not least, I really like the work of the architect Roman Vlasov and the painter Françoise Nielly. Yachts are not typically known to be eco-friendly, how will you incorporate this into your designs and still make them pleasing to the client?
28 | UPSCALE LIVING MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2020
I think that is certainly an issue with yachts but things are moving. My first client, the Monaco based start-up, is building electric and eco-friendly boats. We have new eco-friendly materials to build yachts. I designed Ecoo in order to show a different version of what yachts of the future could look like, especially with innovative materials. There are new projects of hydrogen boats too in order to decrease the carbon footprint. Many people are concerned about global warming so things will change, I’m sure. What unique qualities do you bring to the design process? I studied design in an automotive design school, so I have a different approach from people who studied in yacht design school. I think I am quite good at finding some nice proportions and playing with them. If you have a look at my project Speculo or Praesidium, you can see that proportions are really different from what the yacht industry typically offers. I think that I am resilient and I never give up. How do you keep up to speed with the innovations in yacht design? Which designer do you most admire? I think you just have to be curious, and keep reading news about the industry. I think that