For four days each September, Monaco becomes one of the most concentrated meeting points for the international luxury industry. The Monaco Yacht Show may have superyachts at its centre, but its reach extends far beyond the harbour. Private aviation, jewellery, design, hospitality, finance and luxury services all have a reason to be in the Principality, making the week as important for conversations away from the yachts as those taking place on board.
Against this backdrop, The Private Lounge brought together an international group of guests on 25 September for an evening overlooking Port Hercule. From the terrace, the illuminated superyachts and the activity of the show remained in full view, while inside, guests discovered the participating brands, met their founders and representatives, and moved easily between introductions and business conversations.
Beyond the Show
The idea behind The Private Lounge was straightforward: to create a place where people could meet away from the intensity of the show itself.
Guests came from different areas of business, including yachting, private aviation, jewellery, media, marketing and luxury industries. Rather than a formal networking event, the evening was designed around introductions, conversation and the possibility of discovering people outside one’s immediate professional circle.
The modern private venue, with its terrace directly overlooking the Monaco Yacht Show, gave the evening its character. Guests arrived for an aperitif, enjoying the view over Port Hercule before the evening’s programme began.
The evening was hosted with the support of Salvatore Gandolfo, whose wines were served throughout the event. Mosaiko, together with Guglielmo and Massimo, took care of the standing italian dinner, which continued until late in the evening. (no mention Salvatore Gandolfo, but Cava Vini for the wine taste)
Aviation, Yachting and Cinema
The evening brought together companies from very different fields, each presenting its work to an international audience gathered in Monaco for Yacht Show week.
Private aviation was represented by National Charter, introduced by its founder, Mark Kuznetsov. The connection with Monaco Yacht Show was a natural one: private aviation and yachting often serve the same international clientele, where travel can involve several countries, changing schedules and the need for a high degree of flexibility.
Founder, Mark Kuznetsov
National Charter specialises in tailor-made private aviation, managing everything from aircraft sourcing and flight logistics to 24-hour monitoring and dedicated flight management. The company has operated more than 500 flights worldwide and also works in aircraft asset management and more complex aviation operations. Rather than simply arranging a flight, its model is built around providing one point of contact throughout the journey — particularly relevant for clients whose travel rarely follows a standard itinerary.
The founder spoke to guests about the company and its international approach, opening conversations that continued informally throughout the evening. With many of those attending already moving regularly between Monaco and other international destinations, private aviation was very much part of the wider lifestyle represented in the room.
BAT Looks to Its Next Generation
Naturally, the sea remained central to an evening taking place above Port Hercule.
Italian RIB specialist BAT used The Private Lounge to offer guests a preview of COMBAT 20, its new flagship and a glimpse of the direction the company is taking next.
BAT arrives at this new project with 65 years of history. The Italian brand grew from a strong sporting and offshore heritage, building boats around performance, stability and speed while maintaining the craftsmanship associated with Italian boatbuilding. Today, extensive customisation allows owners to shape their boats around the way they actually intend to use them, bringing comfort and contemporary luxury into a company still closely connected to performance on the water.
The presentation was led by founder and offshore world champion Corrado Rizzardi, who introduced the project to guests and spoke about the thinking behind the company’s new generation of boats. Models such as the Combat 14 have already brought together BAT’s sporting DNA and a more contemporary approach to design; COMBAT 20 takes that evolution further.
With the superyachts of Monaco Yacht Show visible from the terrace outside, it was an appropriate setting for the preview — close to the show itself, but with enough distance for a more direct conversation between the people behind the brand and those discovering it.
Italian Haute Jewellery in Monaco
The evening also introduced guests to Alessia Profor Gioielli, the Milan-based jewellery house. Based on Via San Pietro all’Orto in the heart of Milan, the brand approaches jewellery through Italian craftsmanship, elegant proportions and a strong sense of individuality. Its pieces are created for clients looking beyond jewellery as a conventional luxury purchase and towards something more personal — an object chosen as much for its character as for its materials or value.
A selection of creations was presented at The Private Lounge, allowing guests to discover the jewellery away from the formality of a traditional boutique. Alessia Profor was present herself, meeting guests and speaking about the house and its approach to design.
Jewellery has long had a natural place during Monaco Yacht Show week, when many of the world’s luxury sectors gather around the same international clientele. At The Private Lounge, however, the presentation was deliberately intimate. Pieces could be seen at close range, conversations could happen directly with the founder, and the experience felt closer to a private introduction than a conventional brand showcase.
A Contemporary Take on Marilyn Monroe
Cinema brought an unexpected cultural element to the programme with an exclusive private screening of Barefoot to Hills, produced by Randall Studios. The short documentary revisits the legacy of Marilyn Monroe from a contemporary perspective, looking beyond one of Hollywood’s most recognisable images to consider her continuing influence on fashion, culture and ideas of modern identity. Filmed across Los Angeles, London and the Austrian Alps, the project stars Josefine Forsberg as The Modern Marilyn and was written and directed by Ashley Wiggins.
The Monaco screening took place ahead of the film’s international release on 29 October 2026. Their participation made the screening more personal: once the film ended, conversations could continue directly with the people behind it rather than stopping with the final frame.
The project had already received a Certificate of Recognition from the City of Los Angeles, acknowledging its contribution to the cultural story surrounding Marilyn Monroe. In the context of an evening largely centred on business and luxury, the screening introduced a different subject into the room and became one of the defining moments of the programme.
Communication Across Luxury, Sport and Entertainment
Overmedia brought another business perspective to the evening. The Italian marketing and communications agency works across strategy, creativity and digital communication, with projects extending into lifestyle, entertainment and professional sport.
Its multidisciplinary work includes art direction, content creation, social media, web development, event management, talent management and sports sponsorship. Rather than treating these as separate areas, the agency brings them together around the identity and commercial direction of a brand. Its portfolio includes collaborations and projects involving Sky Sport, Prime Video, Mizuno, S.S. Lazio and Como 1907.
Its presence at The Private Lounge reflected one of the central ideas behind the event: valuable connections during the Monaco Yacht Show do not necessarily need to happen between companies operating in the same industry. A yacht company, jewellery house, aviation specialist or filmmaker may have very different businesses, but all face questions of positioning, communication and reaching an international audience.
Throughout the evening, Overmedia representatives met guests from across these sectors, with the relaxed format allowing conversations to move well beyond formal introductions.
A Different Side of Yacht Show Week
GSM Grillini Sport Management and VG Studio, led by Veronica Gautschi, supported the organisation of The Private Lounge, helping bring together the participating brands and the wider concept of the evening. Working with lifestyle businesses across strategy, branding, identity and communication, the studio’s involvement helped connect companies from sectors that might not ordinarily find themselves presenting within the same programme.
That mix ultimately gave The Private Lounge its character. Outside, the Monaco Yacht Show continued around Port Hercule, its decks and lights filling the harbour. Upstairs, the pace was different: champagne, dinner, cinema, Italian wines and business conversations. For an evening built around making connections, that was precisely the point.