Speaker A
Francis, lovely to meet you.
Francis Kurkdjian discusses the art and performance of unforgettable fragrances, focusing on Dior's J’adore and the influence of Rihanna.
Key Takeaways
- Unforgettable fragrances combine technical performance with artistic expression.
- A fragrance must have presence and uniqueness to stand out and be timeless.
- Collaborations with muses like Rihanna can bring new dimensions to classic perfumes.
- Performance and message in fragrance creation are equally important.
- The perfume industry has evolved to allow more creative freedom for perfumers.
Summary
- Francis Kurkdjian explains that unforgettable fragrances require both technical strength and artistic style, similar to ice skating.
- He emphasizes the importance of a fragrance having sillage and trail to be timeless and recognizable.
- Kurkdjian discusses evolving Dior's iconic J’adore fragrance while staying true to its original DNA.
- Rihanna's role as a performing artist adds a new, real dimension to J’adore Intense, bringing lushness and sensuality.
- The balance between fragrance artistry and performance is crucial; a perfume must deliver a clear message, not just power.
- Kurkdjian reflects on his long career, starting young with creations like Le Male, and feeling like a veteran in the industry.
- He acknowledges the iconic perfumes at Dior, such as Fahrenheit and Hypnotic Poison, as inspiring and exciting to be part of.
- Kurkdjian highlights changes in the industry, noting that perfumers now have more freedom to create personal brands than before.
Chapters
- 00:00Introduction and Meeting Francis Kurkdjian
- 00:21What Makes a Fragrance Unforgettable?
- 00:47The Importance of Technique and Artistry
- 01:45Evolving J’adore While Staying True to Its DNA
- 02:28Rihanna’s Influence on J’adore Intense
- 03:29Different Expressions of Sexiness in Fragrance Muses
- 04:21Balancing Art and Performance in Fragrance
- 05:38Kurkdjian’s Career and Industry Reflections
- 07:38Iconic Dior Fragrances and Industry Evolution
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker A
Nice meeting you, Robin. You have created some of the most unforgettable fragrances for the past few decades.
Speaker A
To you, what is it that makes a fragrance unforgettable?
Speaker A
Hmmm... tough question. First of all, I don't think there is a recipe, because otherwise, all the fragrances would be unforgettable.
Speaker A
I believe two things: first, it's like ice skating in a way. I always give a parallel for ice—about ice skating.
Speaker A
Ice skating, you have two notions: you have technique and style, artistry. And to me, a perfume needs the technique behind because you have to have the strength, the volume, the aura, the capacity to be around, to leave a trail,
Speaker A
and it has to say something relevant. So, you have to have the artistry and one can't go without the other—because if you have only artistry with no sillage and trail, it fades on the skin so no one is gonna smell it,
Speaker A
so you won't be timeless, because you need to tell the world that you are wearing a J’adore, Eau Sauvage.
Speaker A
If you hop on this trend, but you smell like someone else—
Speaker A
Mm-hmm. You don't have a point of difference.
Speaker A
So I would say that technicality is very important and too many, often, people forget about it.
Speaker A
Mm-hmm. J’adore is one of the most recognizable fragrances in the world.
Speaker A
Yes. So when you're taking such a recognizable fragrance and you're evolving it—
Speaker A
Mm-hmm.
Speaker A
How have you done that with J’adore Intense while still being really true to that original DNA and soul?
Speaker A
You have to be true to the original DNA and yet, you have to make a step out of the box.
Speaker A
You have to think out of the box because J’adore is very powerful, it's almost like a magnet.
Speaker A
The fact that Rihanna was the muse helped me, I would say, a lot for one reason is because I believe she adds a new dimension to J’adore.
Speaker A
She makes J’adore, for me, real.
Speaker A
Yeah. J’adore is a story about a muse, about icons, and we had different types of icons before Rihanna.
Speaker A
There is one thing that Rihanna brings to the Maison, but, for the very first time is the fact that she's a performing artist.
Speaker A
Yeah. Her work is to be on stage—she brings a dimension that is not just something that is a screen image.
Speaker A
She literally steps out of her, you know? It's like totally the light and the aura she has to give away and that, to me, this is what I try to translate in the perfume—to bring something real to the perfume.
Speaker A
What I try to bring now is something lush, with flesh, with something, that kind of sexiness.
Speaker A
Yeah. Yeah. There are multiple ways to be sexy. I mean, Charlize [Theron] was sexy in a very iconic muse, Greek goddess way.
Speaker A
That's a way to be sexy. I think Rihanna is sexy with her body—
Speaker A
Yes.
Speaker A
Which is a bit different. Not the soul only, but the body as well.
Speaker A
Yeah.
Speaker A
A lot of the conversations around fragrance, especially online, are about performance. You know, talking about huge fragrances, this huge projection.
Speaker A
How do you find that balance between the art of a fragrance, but also the performance?
Speaker A
It goes with.
Speaker A
Yeah. I fully—performance is key. I'm an advocate of fragrance that deliver.
Speaker A
Yeah. It's super important. Nevertheless, it's not enough. You know, just punching people with your perfume is not enough.
Speaker A
It's what type of message are you sending. What type of sophistication? It doesn't even—
Speaker A
I remove sophistication.
Speaker A
It doesn't have to be sophisticated. It's like, what type of message are you delivering?
Speaker A
Because just punch to punch, you know, like powerful perfume just to be powerful—it's super easy.
Speaker A
What is much more complex, sophisticated to create and difficult is to create a message, to have an idea because just to shout, you know, you take a porte-voix [megaphone], those big things, you know, and you shout—it's easy.
Speaker A
What is difficult is to shout and be tangible and to be comprehensible, someone who understands what you say, but it's very difficult.
Speaker A
You spoke about being a veteran there. I mean, you've—
Speaker A
Yeah, kind of.
Speaker A
You've created—
Speaker A
I started very early.
Speaker A
I'm not such a veteran but—
Speaker A
You were 23 when you did it?
Speaker A
24 when I created Le Male.
Speaker A
Le Male, yeah.
Speaker A
Yeah, no, no. I am, I am a veteran because I've been around for so many years.
Speaker A
But I don't feel old. Maybe it's a market—I'm old.
Speaker A
Not at all, not at all.
Speaker A
Is there another fragrance by another perfumer that you think, "Oh, I really wish I'd created that"?
Speaker A
There are so many. Of course, first of all because when I was a perfumer at large, I would say, I did not have access to all the briefs.
Speaker A
I was not in a big company. I decided to stay within Takasago because Takasago allowed me to—I was able to create my own brand, which was not, at the time, Givaudan and the company, they were not inclined to let you do things on the side.
Speaker A
Now, they love it. They promote it. But when I started 15-20 years ago, no one really wanted that.
Speaker A
The number of iconic perfumes at Dior just gives you like... vertige—
Speaker A
Vertigo.
Speaker A
You know, Fahrenheit.
Speaker A
Yeah. Amazing. Poison amazing. Addict, amazing. Hypnotic Poison, it's totally crazy this perfume. So no, no.
Speaker A
I, even just at Dior, it's like, it's—and this is why it's exciting to be there.
Topics:Francis KurkdjianDiorJ’adorefragrance performanceperfume artistryRihannaperfume creationiconic fragrancesLe Maleperfume industry
