Culti Milano’s high end perfumes are widely used by interior designers who favour the brand’s renowned quality and exclusivity. Following the launch of Culti Milano’s latest collection of diffusers and body care products at Maison & Objet Paris, Hospitality Interiors caught up with founder, Alessandro Agrati, to find out more.
Could you please talk a little about your own professional background, Alessandro?
When I created Culti Milano in the early 1990s, it wasn’t a real début for me. For a long time my family had been involved in the fashion and furniture industries, designing a wide range of products on behalf of other brands. While doing this, I saw the possibility of creating something new – my brainchild – that would allow me to unlock my inexhaustible inspiration. And so Culti Milano was born: a ‘container’ brand which combines home and personal style.
What motivated you to found Culti Milano in 1990?
Culti Milano introduced, for the first time ever, the reed stick home fragrance diffuser, inspired by the technique of hand-weaving wicker baskets. Essentially I was inspired by launching something that would bring together the materials that I love the most – fabrics and woods – and merging them with a ‘project of the senses’ related to the world of fragrance.
How do you find your experience as an interior designer informs the direction and identity of Culti Milano?
When I first created ambient perfumes diffused through rattan sticks, it quickly became a design object. Many have tried to copy it without ever being able to reach the uniqueness of Culti Milano. My experience in the world of interior design has been a source of inspiration to create increasingly innovative perfuming objects.
Could you take us through some of Culti Milano’s highlights over the past 25 years?
What makes Culti Milano unique is the daily re-discovery of what I like to call new traditions. I like to be recognised as an innovator of good living habits related to the bien vivre.
What sets Culti Milano apart?
In a simple word: style, which together with the values I mentioned earlier, has always created a timeless identity, recognised around the world.
What do you feel the right choice of fragrance can bring to a guest’s experience at a hotel?
The experience at a hotel is not dissimilar to the experience in a home environment: it must be respectful, gentle and never prevaricate. The right olfactory choice allows you to pleasantly complement the memory of very personal moments.
Could you tell us more about Culti Milano’s latest launches?
Culti Milano reinvents itself every day, and in 2017 we will present the theme of the Culti Milano olfactory laboratory: a real olfactory seduction game that will allow the brand’s enthusiasts to be able to create their very own fragrance, playing with the multiple available scents.
What’s in store for Culti Milano in 2017?
We plan to carry on playing with the senses, with the light that innovates the scent and new systems to spread the fragrances in a personalised way.
