Marking 20 years of the iconic Dior Homme fragrance, Kurkdjian’s first dabble into the Dior Homme-verse stems from flower to root, playing into the duality of power and fragility.
Francis Kurkdjian, the brains behind Dior’s current fragrance line, has the kind of nose that gleans from vivacious memories – just as an author is able to build worlds with their pen, the Parisian perfumer, and Dior’s Perfume Creation Director, holds an innate ability to immortalise such fond experiences, allowing the intangible to be evoked in a bottle-size fragrance. Picture a seaside landscape: the saltiness of the sea that froths against sand, sun rays bounce onto sun-lotion-lathered skin, an air of freshness radiates amongst blue skies as seagulls chirp from the neon-lit pier. A scene that feels so familiar you could almost taste the Mr Whippy and its 99 flake – this is the kind of narrative that Kurkdjian can weave together, whip up (pun intended), and encapsulate in a bottle.
After his interlude at Jean Paul Gaultier, and his own eponymous label Maison Francis Kurkdjian, the perfumer’s latest foray has left him at the Parisian walls of Dior’s atelier, where he has since brought to life an array of its most iconic spaces, garments and eras. After working for Christian Dior Parfums since October 2021, Kurkdjian has created his first edition of the renowned Dior Homme fragrance – a perfume first created two decades ago, with the initial ethos of complementing the “metrosexual” man, a man who prioritises his appearance, grooming and style.
Imprinted with the legacy of this sensuous Dior man, Kurkdjian took to Iris as the predominant note, accompanied by scents of amber, accord, patchouli and vetiver – conjuring up the fresh feeling of sitting amidst hay bales, or soft petals that blend with scents of earthy soil. As the press release puts it, these seductive colours caress the wearer, as Kurkdjian plays with contrasts, citing “power and tenderness, rigor and warmth” as his muses for the fragrance.
Playing with the confidence of the Dior man, alongside Christian Dior’s aspirations to be an architect, Kurkdjian’s interpretation of the perfume has also brought about a re-energised iteration of the bottle’s design, one invigorated with a sense of rigour. Inspired by modern-day skyscrapers – a piece of architecture Kurkdjian personifies as obtaining power and resonance, the bottle has been redesigned to complement the newly constructed fragrance. Once again, the label has linked up with Robert Pattinson, face of Dior Homme, for the new campaign, as the actor can be seen going about his day on the streets of New York: from riding a motorcycle on the beach, fawning over his lover, and moseying about his apartment. If buying this fragrance means we can loft about our apartments as Robert Pattinson flirts with us, then sign us up!
Words – Freya Goodchild-Bridge
