Francis Kurkdjian.
Photo: Brigitte Lacombe for Christian Dior Parfums
Creative Mind: Francis Kurkdjian
As Dior’s perfume creation director, the Parisian talent artfully reimagines some of the maison’s iconic scents while conjuring new ones
Bois Talisman. Photo: Courtesy of Christian Dior Parfums
Born and raised in Paris, Francis Kurkdjian has always had an affinity for fashion and fragrance. Now he marries the two disciplines in his own artistic way as perfume creation director for Dior, a title he’s held since 2021. During his tenure, Kurkdjian has reimagined several of the maison’s iconic scents, conjuring J’Adore l’Or, Sauvage Eau Forte, and Miss Dior Parfum, as well as well as five classics revisited from La Collection Privée Dior. For the latter, he introduced the edgy New Look eau de parfum, with its surprisingly fresh aldehydes, in 2024, as well as Bois Talisman in 2025.
Pushing boundaries: With 35 years of experience, he’s both witnessed and influenced the evolution of fragrance. In addition to founding his namesake maison in 2001—known for visionary cult creations, including Baccarat Rouge 540—Kurkdjian executed olfactory installations at Château de Versailles and the Grand Palais in Paris as well as conceived collaborations with artists such as Sophie Calle.
Dior's La Collection Privée assortment of fragrances. Photo: Courtesy of Christian Dior Parfums
Creative process: Kurkdjian begins by defining the story behind the fragrance, then lets the scent unfold from the name. For the recent Bois Talisman, he mined Christian Dior’s superstitious nature and how he kept a piece of wood in his pocket. Kurkdjian often carries a cube of sugar with him for luck, so he united the idea of the two in a unisex scent with a background of cedar with notes of vanilla. “Everything starts with Christian Dior, and I bring the thread back to life.”
A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2025 Spring Issue under the headline “Creative Minds.” Subscribe to the magazine.
Dioriviera. Photo: Courtesy of Christian Dior Parfums
New Look. Photo: Courtesy of Christian Dior Parfums
Cover: Francis Kurkdjian.
Photo: Brigitte Lacombe for Christian Dior Parfums
