Dior Has Announced the Name of Its New Fragrance Director – Francis Kurkdjian

Dior has recently announced the name of its new fragrance director. Let’s welcome Francis Kurkdjian, a perfumer who will replace Francois Demachy in this position.

A film about Demachy’s life and work was presented on Netflix. The film crew then followed the perfumer from Grasse to Nosy Be, through the island of Sulawesi and the coast of Ireland, Paris, Cannes, Tokyo, Calabria, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Shanghai, accompanying him in search of the perfect raw materials and formulas. Francois Demachy, who created about 150 fragrances for Dior, including Miss Dior EDP 2021, is retiring, but clearly will continue to do his favorite thing.

Kurkdjian is one of the youngest and most noble “noses” of modern times. He was awarded the Order of the Legion of Honor and became famous for his unusual perfume experiments. He produced perfumed matches, soap bubbles, fabric softeners, candles, and scented paper (all of these products are part of the regular range of his Parisian boutiques and online store).

Francis Kurkdjian became world-famous after the creation of Le Mâle for Jean Paul Gaultier. He was then only 25 years old. In 2009, he founded his own perfume house with a flagship boutique on the Rue d’Alger in Paris. His portfolio includes about five hundred works, including works for Acqua di Parma, Christian Dior, Guerlain, Kenzo, as well as Burberry, Nina Ricci, Elie Saab, Carven, Narciso Rodriguez, and many others. The perfumer often worked with private orders- he created personal perfumes for customers. Today, the house is represented in forty countries around the world, and in 2016 the house became a member of Comité Colbert, an association that promotes French luxury.

In March 2017, Maison Francis Kurkjian joined LVMH, while Francis retained a stake in his own portfolio and remained the brand’s creative director.