The Lake Wears Stripes

For summer 2026, Filario Hotel & Residences lets GUESS reupholster a stretch of Lezzeno shoreline, and Lake Como loosens its collar.

I have always had a soft spot for Filario, the crisp modernist monolith on the Lezzeno shore that has been quietly arguing, for a decade now, that Lake Como need not be all marbled mansions and pressed linen. The hotel is the vision of local entrepreneur Alessandro Sironi, with interiors by the late Alessandro Agrati of Culti Milano fame, whose particular gift was a kind of sensual minimalism: elemental, intuitive, content to let materials set the scene. The façade, clad in honeyed Lombardy stone hand-cut to echo the mountain curves behind, makes Filario the lake's most design-literate address, a confident piece of geometry gazing across the water at Bellagio, Villa Balbianello and Comacina Island.

For 2026, Filario has done something rather brave. It has handed its private beach, one of the very few on the lake with direct water access, to GUESS for the summer. The "Ciao Como" project trades the lido's first-decade monochrome for a long run of red-and-cream awning stripes: cabanas with curtained sides, pinwheel umbrellas, embroidered totes, Made-in-Como textiles, and a floating platform offshore wrapped in the same livery. A great red swing is planted at the shoreline like a piece of seaside-Capri Pop. Picture the Riviera in its early-sixties prime, tip a little Brianza restraint over the top, and you have the rough flavour. A wardrobe change, not a rebrand.

The detail holds throughout. The reimagined restaurant terrace, by Como-based CMP Design, is dressed in Pedrali pieces from Bergamo and artisan-sewn textiles from local makers, while custom Ethimo loungers run a seamless line from the shoreline back to the lake-view terraces. Tablewares carry the "Ciao, Como" script in dashed brown, plates and napkins and placemats all in concert, the wine glasses pleasingly wine-coloured. Art Director Alice Muzzioli held the tonal coherence steady, which matters rather a lot when fashion meets architecture; nothing here jars. The collaboration extends to a mono-brand GUESS boutique in Bellagio and a freshly dressed Como Classic Boats fleet, launched aboard the century-old steamship Concordia.

What I admire is the lightness of touch. Sironi could have leaned monastic and let the design do all the talking, as so many design hotels do, to their own quiet detriment. Instead, there are weekly jazz sessions, water's edge DJ sets, gourmet pizzas at Yeast Side, Chef Alessandro Parisi's more considered compositions at Ristorante Filo, and a beach you actually want to lie on. The lido has its swimsuit on, and it suits it rather well.

For 2026, Filario hands its Lake Como lido to GUESS. Red-and-cream awning stripe, a great red swing, and a private beach that finally feels off-duty.

GUESS Ciao Como striped tote bag and red beach towels on Filario cabana lounger, Lake Como ferry crossing, Lezzeno waterfront, Italian design hotel | TheAficionados.com

Ciao Como embroidered detail on red-and-cream awning stripe textile, GUESS x Filario lido accessory, Made-in-Como fabric, summer 2026 collaboration | TheAficionados.com

Red GUESS Ciao Como swing on Filario private beach, Lezzeno shoreline framed by striped curtains, Lake Como mountain backdrop, design hotel installation | TheAficionados.com