The ambient culture of Alessandro Agrati

There is no design without function and no well-being without respect for the person's uniqueness. And everything starts from nature, the territory and its history. Alessandro Agrati - designer and perfumer who created CULTI MILANO, a brand specialising in fragrances for the ambience and the person - tells us about the vision that brings his projects to life.

By Michela Pibiri | On PRINTlovers 95                                                     

As I talk to Alessandro Agrati from the editorial office of PRINTlovers in Segrate, he is in the car, heading towards a building site. He shifts the camera on his phone from framing his face to what can be seen through the window. 'Do you see, Michela?' he says, 'I'm only half an hour from Milan, and I'm surrounded by vineyards and cypresses. This landscape, this territory, is everything; there is no need to add anything. Living in nature, being inspired by nature is the experience that all people should have.' It is an apparently simple statement but, expressed by a designer, summarises an entire vision of the world and the very seed of every project. Sixty years old, from Lombardy, Agrati was born in the land of design and the furniture industry, where, in the early 1980s, he began gaining experience with the big brands in Brianza. While working as a designer, he discovered he was a 'nose' and decided to create a brand linked to ambient culture. And 'culture' is the key word from which the name CULTI derives, recalling an idea of profound knowledge, experience and rituality.

How did CULTI MILANO originate?
In the world of ambience design, in the early 1980s, the concept of wellness was completely missing. Discovering that I was a nose, I thought of combining design, fragrance and function. As a nose - not a chemist - I gave life to an innovative perfumery that recalled the style of my land and its irreplicable simplicity. If we think about it, when it comes to food, the simplicity of bread and oil cannot be imitated in any way and, likewise, the essential elements of our territory, in defiance of the complex English and French perfumeries. And so in 1988, CULTI was founded, with the first showroom in Brera in 1990, offering customers woods, fabrics and perfumes: a sort of free beater moving into a still unexplored field in which the well-being of the person and their uniqueness were placed at the centre. After a phase that I could define as a start-up that lasted about 25 years, five years ago, CULTI MILANO went public without ever giving up the component of craftsmanship that distinguishes it.

For CULTI, product and packaging are inseparable, resulting from a holistic vision. How important are the materials that enclose the product?

The raw materials are those of the person and their ambience: the perfume and fabrics they wear, the wood of their furnishings. From the importance of wood came the sticks inserted in the bottle to diffuse fragrances: that was CULTI's idea, and everyone then adopted it. Today it has become a habit; it has transformed perfuming ambiences into an experience. For CULTI, I chose innovative but, above all, functional materials, which did not just aim for the wow effect: in 1988, there was no supply chain of partners to support the project, as there is today: the bottles were sandblasted by hand, the fabric labels were cut and applied one at a time. My perspective was that of high craftsmanship capable of bringing different companies together: when you study a product, you have to make a system, not rely on chance but create something with a far-sighted vision.

What do you mean by far-sighted vision, and how does it apply to packaging?

Neither the fragrances nor the packaging of CULTI have ever been based on the fashions of the moment: our most successful fragrances were created 30 years ago. Capsule collections have then been made, of course, which are of great value from a commercial point of view but are never deceptive — being forward-looking means' taking time out of objects', combining innovation, tradition and culture. For CULTI, the fusion of product and packaging is intrinsic to its very nature, but I can safely say, in general, that the most beautiful designs in the world are made by taking away and not by adding. Packaging must be attractive but reduced to a minimum. Made with few things, but unique. The product must remain well-protected and well-presented, so when you take it off, you must take it off well.

CULTI took part in Brand Revolution 2022. How did you experience the interpretation work carried out by the agency Advision and the partners myCordenons, Eurolabel, Luxoro and Varigrafica?

When working on the brand, giving the correct input and returning clear messages is crucial. It's an exchange: on the part of the brand, it's essential to maintain consistency and simultaneously be able to grant freedom. On the partners' side, you need the ability to listen, receive, and share the message. In Brand Revolution, this exchange took place. In life, I have discarded beautiful but not brand-consistent projects because I want a project to come into being for me. When I talk about coherence, I never talk about DNA, but I talk about 'soul': I am a great believer in touching the chords of the soul, in all areas of life, even in the conversation we are having now. To do that, you must leave a beautiful and consistent mark, believe in your actions, and never let negativity overpower you.

Earlier, we discussed well-being: how has this concept evolved? Have the demands of clients changed in your work as an architect and interior designer? How are spaces experienced today?

What has changed over time is our ability to be visionary. In my designs for hotels, spas and farmhouses, I have always put the person at the centre: we are all unique and distinct beings. And this uniqueness is reflected in the spaces, which are not places to be filled but to be respected. Well-being is about going with your habits, letting yourself be guided by nature, applying its principles to everything and allowing it to enter everywhere with strength and authenticity, from the living room to the garden. My approach to design starts from the territory, from recovering lost places and then allowing myself the luxury of emptiness by using few but suitable materials and respectful light, natural and artificial. I rarely venture into a new project because I prefer to recover the old without adding new dimensions. Rescuing lost places means bringing out the truth after decades of architectural withering, of which our country is a victim. Suppose it's true that you can't replicate history. In that case, it's also true that you can bring it back to life, and this is what I did with the first CULTI Spa opened in Puglia in 1990 by restoring a farmhouse and creating a natural welcome linked to our culture and history. You'll never find a Turkish bath in one of my projects: you only need to know the traditions of the area - from Rome to the excavations of Pompeii - to find the inspiration for the most beautiful baths in the world. Restoration and integration with nature imply an approach that has always been sustainable, but more needs to be done for sustainability. The new sustainability must act at all levels, use technology to be autonomous and live well, have a holistic view and put the person's uniqueness at the centre.

What does 'innovation' mean to you?

It may sound trivial, but for me, innovation means bringing good. Generating something that prolongs and improves the quality of life: the beautiful and the good are fundamental.

What is your vision of the future?

I really believe in the strength of young people. Often we need to find a way to give them space and opportunities to create their own projects. If I had political clout today, I'd fund start-ups with the vision of bringing back to life everything we have left behind: the entrepreneurial ideas that have made our history, the craftsmanship, and the ideas that make us Italians unique in the world. I'd promote our way of being unique, bringing back the world of workshops to get our hands dirty and put them to work: in a word, rediscovering art. And to be honest, I am very optimistic about what is going to happen.